Thinking Makes You Fat

Giving new meaning to the phrase "food for thought," Canadian researchers now think that thinking could make us fat. MedicalNewsToday reports that researchers at University Laval measured the spontaneous food intake of 14 students after each of three
tasks: relaxing in a sitting position, reading and summarizing a text,
and completing a series of memory, attention, and vigilance tests on
the computer. After 45 minutes at each activity, participants were
invited to eat as much as they wanted from a buffet.
The website reports that the researchers had already shown that each session of intellectual work
requires only three calories more than the rest period, but despite the low energy cost of mental work, the students spontaneously
consumed 203 more calories after summarizing a text and 253 more
calories after the computer tests. This represents a 23.6 percent and 29.4 percent
increase, respectively, compared with the rest period.

Read more in MedicalNewsToday.