Craving carbs? Blame your brain, says study

Under pressure and gobbling pizza or chocolate? It may not be your fault, according to Japanese researchers who have isolated the neurons that drive a craving for carbohydrates.

The team at Japan's National Institute for Physiological Sciences found that activating neurons known to respond to social stress increased the appetite in mice for carbs.

Rodents with the neurons activated ate high-carbohydrate food at a rate of three times the mice under normal conditions.