Attention! Women Feel More Romantic with a Full Belly

Researchers have discovered that women tend to respond better to romance when they have a full stomach. The idea is that when you are hungry, you have a harder time focusing on anything else.

There is a term called “hangry” which is used to describe someone who is so hungry, they lash out in anger. When we are hangry, we tend to say things we don’t mean and it is because we are starving — not because we are cruel.

There is an old adage that tells women that a surefire way to get to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This could be said about women too. A study conducted by researchers at Drexel and UPenn have discovered that women who aren’t hungry have a better willingness to engage in romantic activities.

The study consisted of 20 women of a normal weight. Half of the women went on a diet at least two times in the past while the other half hadn’t. When all of the women fasted for eight hours and hooked up to a fMRI scanner, they were shown a variety of images. Some of these images were of ordinary things while others depicted romantic scenes, like a couple holding hands. In the second part of the study, the women were given a 500 calorie meal replacement shake and then they were shown more images while hooked to the machine.

Because the women now had something in their stomachs, they were more responsive to the romantic imagery. What’s more interesting is that the women who tried to lose weight in the past were much more responsive to these images. Researchers have known for quite some time that people who have dieted in the past had stronger brain responses when they were given food, but this newest study suggests that this effect goes much further than just food.

If you think about it, it makes sense. The need to reproduce is a baseline need but unless you are satiated and not starving, you can do much else but to satisfy your hunger first.

Researchers caution that because the study only consisted of a small amount, the results are not definitive. Instead, it simply confirms the belief of what people have known for years. Haven’t you ever wondered why most dates always consisted of a dinner and movie? From our perspective, it makes no sense — why would we force ourselves to try and have a conversation over a meal with someone that you’ve just met, followed by an activity where you cannot talk to one another?

You have to wonder if there was some moment in the past where a guy discovered that by taking a woman to a nice meal and then a romantic movie will spark some kind of romantic desire in his date. The really interesting thing is that science is finally catching onto the idea — and idea that has been in practice for ages.