| Why You Can’t Stop Eating Sweets (Even When You’re Full) |
| You know that moment after you finish a meal and you have room for one bite of dessert — but you somehow become ravenous once the treat hits your lips? Your hunger might have nothing to do with willpower. It’s your brain chemistry at work. |
| New research suggests that dopamine can override your body’s natural “I’m full” signal—making it easier to eat for pleasure, not hunger. |
| Researchers explored how the brain balances eating for your body’s energy needs (homeostatic eating) with eating for pleasure (hedonic eating). They focused on two opposing forces: dopamine neurons that drive the desire to eat and neurons that carry GLP-1R (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors), which typically signal fullness and reduce food intake. |
| You might recognize GLP-1 as the hormone that’s activated in the new weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. These new medications are so effective because they regulate appetite and blood sugar beyond what you can normally activate through diet or exercise. |
| When you’re enjoying food, your dopamine circuit ramps up and suppresses your satiety signals. So, even if you’re full, your brain keeps saying, “Keep going, this is delicious.” |
| The scientists studied this pathways in mice, and when dopamine neurons were blocked, the mice consumed less high-fat, high-sugar food—even though the same food was available. |
| In other words, a surge in dopamine — which you can get from your favorite dessert — dampen the response of GLP-1R neurons, which normally suppress appetite. So the drive to eat dessert — and then the moment when the deliciousness hits — can result in you eating far more than you want. |
| So what does this mean for your everyday health? |
| It confirms what many of us feel: cravings and pleasure-driven eating aren’t just about discipline. They’re the result of brain circuits that actively oppose your body’s satiety system. |
| And yet, mind-control or not, it’s up to you to take control of your hunger. To work with your biology, not against it: |
| Focus on foods that activate fullness signals (like those high in protein and fiber).Eat slowly (take at least 20 minutes per meal) to give satiety hormones time to work before dopamine takes over.If you know dessert is a problem either pass on it or do so with such a small serving size that you’re not a dopamine victim.And if you find yourself eating when you’re not hungry, know that it’s not about weakness—it’s your brain’s reward system doing exactly what it’s designed to do. |
| Understanding how dopamine and hunger systems compete can help you make better decisions when cravings hit—and reduce the guilt that often follows. |
