11 Reasons Why Your Brain Is A Total Dick
5. It's Making You Fat
When your brain is busy (which is always), it has to prioritise certain tasks. Unfortunately, making sure you don't turn into a sack of lard isn't one of them.
In one study, it was shown that people are much more likely to make unhealthy food decisions when their mind is occupied.
Half of the participants were asked to memorize a two-digit number and the other half had to memorize a seven-digit number, both groups were then offered a delicious slice of chocolate cake or a healthy fruit salad.
The group with the smaller number were 50% more likely to choose the fruit salad, whereas the group with the larger number went straight fro the cake.
It is thought that this is because the big number group were too busy trying to consciously remember their number, and let their subconscious make the decision about food, but the group with the small number could remember it easily enough that they could concentrate on other things.
This makes sense in an evolutionary context. When early man roamed the forests and plains, their brains were too busy trying not to get eaten by anything and so the subconscious would just ensure that they automatically chose the higher calorie options whenever they could.
This is useful when you have to literally chase down and kill your next meal, but not when faced with a whole supermarket aisle of biscuits.
Considering that all it took to distract the groups from making healthy choices was a seven digit number, the rest of us have no chance. If our heads are constantly occupied by trying to remember how to drive, keeping track of our kids or having imaginary arguments with our boss, then there's just not enough room for turning down cake.