That is why you're overweight

By J. Thomas Duffy

In the event, you're sitting in front of your computer, reading this, while stuffing your face with a donut, or piece of pizza, you, very likely, won't recall reading this, or remember very little of it.



Don't worry, it's not you, it's your brain, and you're in company with an overwhelming amount of people on the planet.

H/T to Juan Cole for posting this:

Willpower And The 'Slacker' Brain

According to British psychologist Richard Wiseman, 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure. Those are his findings from a 2007 University of Hertfordshire study of more than 3,000 people.

How come so many attempts at willpower lose both their will and their power?

[snip]

It turns out, Jonah explains, that the part of our brain that is most reasonable, rational and do-the-right-thing is easily toppled by the pull of raw sensual appetite, the lure of sweet. Knowing something is the right thing to do takes work — brain work — and our brains aren't always up to that. The experiment, after all, tells us brains can't even hold more than seven numbers at a time. Add five extra digits, and good sense tiptoes out of your head, and in comes the cake. "This helps explain why, after a long day at the office, we're more likely to indulge in a pint of ice cream, or eat one too many slices of leftover pizza," Lehrer writes.

Click the link and go to the piece, as we didn't snip the fascinating part, the experiment.

And we have the perfect soundtrack for this, an old gem from Eddie Harris:

Eddie Harris - That Is Why You're Overweight [1975] [HDTV]




(Cross-posted at The Garlic.)