Thinking Hard Makes You Eat More

This study seems ridiculous to me. First off, if you look at people at Ivy League schools or high level executive positions, they are usually more in shape than those who are doing less "thinking" jobs.

So if I think hard, I get hungry; if I think of food, I get very hungry... hmmm then it must be really hard to think of food...

I've seen this study elsewhere, and it was staated ...

"Blood samples taken before, during, and after revealed that intellectual work causes much bigger fluctuations in glucose levels than rest periods, perhaps owing to the stress of thinking."

We all know when our blood sugar gets low - we want to eat ... and I believe that's the difference for the caloric difference.

What's a person to do? Simple fill up on fruit before and during a "mental workout".

May be the excuse I need to stop and just sit. I'll try to fit that in...once a month?

Another way to interpret the results would be that boredom blunts hunger. What were the control group doing for 45 minutes - staring at the wall?

Anyone who has taken finals could have guessed this. :)
Studying is hungry work.

mental work may make you feel hungrier, but i think simply being conscious of this will keep one from overconsuming calories. but the fact that so many people hold sedentary desk jobs does indeed contribute to the proliferation of overweight and obese individuals. not everyone may be taking in more calories, but we're all certainly burning less.

working a desk job myself, i feel that i shouldn't be consuming more calories than my BMR. my dear mother, however, somehow thinks that mental work requires more calories. i guess she's of the same mind as people in categories 2 and 3 of the study.

It sort of makes sense, I suppose...your brain runs on glucose and glucose only, so when you need to think, your body puts a lot of glucose into your bloodstream for your brain to use. I vaguely remember study sessions before my physical chemistry exams involving a ton of pizza, donuts, and soda, lol.

I used to get so hungry at school. By the end of the day I was starving.

In most US public schools, there is only one opportunity to eat during the schoolday, and that is a crappy, processed food lunch (they claim it is healthy and follows US govt health standards).

This research could be good argument to allow more healthy snacks into the schools (maybe students could bring their own to cut down on costs). I wonder if this would increase learning ability as well?

That is a great study for those of us looking to gain weight. Time to think more!

I feel like the study doesn't prove that thinking burns more calories. What it may prove is that doing something you don't necessarily want to, might make you crave some reward or distraction, which for a lot of people is food. Which makes me think that it is not the act of thinking that triggers hunger, there are more psychological factors at play.

Hmmm, this theory may be used as an explanation to the difference between heavy thinkers in educational environments (generally are there by choice, and thinking about things they really want to), versus heavy thinkers in the workplace (are often feeling trapped in a job they don't necessarily love).

It's an interesting idea, but they used only 14 people to make this conclusion? Seems like a ridiculously small sample size.

The trick to the people who seem to be healthy that usually sit at a desk is that they also play tennis, swim, etc. I have worked in both physical jobs and mental and I would choose physical any day of the week! This is my first-hand observation. Another truth is that either activity requires additional exercise. Healthy exercise is something above what your body does on a daily basis. When I worked physically 50-70 hours a week that is what my body was use to. To be considered exercise I had to work out 3 times a week in addition to that. Something my body didn't expect. This keeps your organs on 'their feet'.

It's very good idea, but they used many people to make this conclusion? Seems like a ridiculously small sample size.

No one who has taken finals could have guessed this. Because studying is a very difficult work.