Keeping your weight in check is all down to eating well, being active and having willpower, right? An increasing body of robust scientific evidence suggests otherwise. While lifestyle is important, complex neurobiological mechanisms play a role in regulating hunger and cravings.

Two areas of the brain are involved in regulating hunger and cravings: the hypothalamus (hunger centre) and the mesolimbic reward system.
Click on these areas of the brain below to find out more.

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There is evidence that the human body is programmed to actively defend against weight loss and maintain a certain range of body weight, known as ‘set point’. Your set point may be determined by your heaviest past weight. When you lose weight and drop below your set point, your brain causes hunger and cravings in an attempt to bring your weight back up to your set point.

The human body is programmed to defend itself against weight loss, actively trying to maintain a set point determined by your heaviest past weight.