This could be a reason for your late night chocolate cravings

New Delhi: If you’ve been eating chocolates or ice cream all night, ‘loneliness’ could be the reason behind addiction to sugary products, say researchers.

According to the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, loneliness can cause extreme cravings for sugary foods.

To conduct the study, the researchers linked the brain chemistry of socially isolated individuals to poor mental health, weight gain, cognitive loss and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Senior study author Arpana Gupta, an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said she wanted to observe the brain pathways linked to obesity, depression and anxiety, as well as binge eating, which is a coping mechanism against loneliness.

The study involved 93 pre-menopausal participants, and the results indicated that people who experienced loneliness or isolation had a higher percentage of body fat.

In addition, they exhibited poor eating behaviors, such as food addiction and uncontrolled eating.

Scientists used MRI scans to monitor participants’ brain activity as they looked at abstract images of sweet and savory foods. The results showed that individuals who experienced isolation had more activity in certain areas of the brain responsible for responding to sugar cravings.

These same participants showed lower responsiveness in areas related to self-control.

According to Gupta, social isolation can cause a craving for food that is similar to “the desire for social connections.”