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I Think, Therefore I Gain Weight


Posted by: DeLila Bergan on September 05, 2008

At last, scientific research has explained why I am no longer the slim young thing I was when I got married ever so many years ago.  Researchers at Laval University in Quebec City have confirmed that intellectual activity makes people eat more.  Unfortunately, thinking does not seem to burn many more calories than simply sitting around, so the hunger created by brain activity can result in a weight gain for those who spend lots of time in intellectual pursuits rather than physical activities.


The Canadian study group was extremely small, only 14 university students, which makes the study results fairly inconclusive.  However, blood samples taken from the students in the study prior to them beginning different levels of intellectual activities, again during those activities, and afterward, found that the students given the most complex thinking tasks had a much larger change in blood glucose levels than the students who were resting during the same time period.  It is known that brain cells require twice as much energy as other body cells when in use and glucose or sugar in the blood provides that energy.  


Following the testing, the students were allowed to eat as much as they liked.  The students involved in the hardest intellectual tasks consumed almost 30% more calories than did the “couch potatoes”, which may perhaps be explained by the brain’s need for additional glucose when hard at work.


While these findings may explain why we seem to want to eat more after performing intellectual tasks, it appears that the body doesn’t burn enough calories during brainy pursuits to offset the desired food consumption.  I’m still thinking this research may provide a reasonable basis for understanding my chocolate addiction.  I spend a lot of time deep in thought, so I need chocolate.  Such a simple and satisfying concept!


The Laval University study was published in Psychosomatic Medicine; the lead researcher was Jean-Philippe Chaput.  A brief summary by Robert Roy Britt of LiveScience.com appeared in Yahoo! News on 9/4/08.

 

By Dee Bergan of E-Senior Services