FYI: Will People Ever Evolve Out of Craving Unhealthy Food?
Donuts Food cravings may be triggered by a drop in blood sugar, which can lead to a drop in self-control. Obesity can heighten cravings. Christopher Stevenson/Getty Images Maybe, but it's going to take a long time. For the past 200,000 years or so, fatty and sugary foods were hard for humans to come by and well worth gorging on. Fats help maintain body temperature, sugars provide energy, and craving such food is hardwired: Eating fats and sugars activates reward centers in the brain. Scientists are finding that the degree to which we experience those cravings can also be influenced by genes. Obesity runs in families, and although scientists still don't know just how much of craving is hereditary and how much is learned, they have located more than 100 genes that seem to be linked to the disease. To evolve out of cravings, we'd need to stop passing down these genes. Rob DeSalle,...