Dieting may be worse for your waistline than you think, especially for women. A new study has shown that there is a greater association between guilt and chocolate in women who are dieting or have dieted in the past. This connection increases the likelihood of developing chocolate cravings, since negative emotions and comfort eating also have a strong connection in these women. The stronger the craving, the more likely the dieters were to give in to it.

The study was conducted at a university in England, where researchers showed women pictures of chocolate or nonfood items and asked them to report on the feelings that these images triggered. Their conclusion was that dieting "appears to have the opposite [of its intended] effect in that it can increase the desire for the actual foods [dieters] are trying to avoid." Hopefully, the next step in the study will look at how diets affect men's cravings, as well.

Having a positive body image and making healthy dining choices when possible, rather than opting for fad diets where long-term maintenance is unreasonable, is the best way to keep weight, cravings and guilt under control.

When it comes to chocolate, there are two types of people: cravers and noncravers. It is interesting to note this because, unlike the vast majority of foodstuffs, people feel very strongly about their love of chocolate and often seem to find it to be "incredible" that not everyone loves the stuff.

Those who crave it experience an unusual reaction just from looking at it. A new study shows that simply looking at chocolate can activate the pleasure centers in a brain of a chocolate-lover. In fact, the part of the brain that is involved in drug addiction, the ventral striatum, turned on in response to the images, though noncravers did not have any activity in this part of the brain. Not surprisingly, when the viewing was combined with a taste of chocolate, their reaction (within the pleasure centers of the brain) was very strong. Noncravers also did not report that tasting the chocolate was as pleasant as the cravers did.

No on yet seems to have any idea as to why some crave chocolate and others don't, but some scientists say that the results of this study, indicating a clear desire-reward reaction to chocolate, could help "people change their diets or control cravings" for chocolate and possibly other foods. But when it comes to chocolate, who would want to?

A new study from Cornell University claims to have found a connection between cravings for sweet snacks and fruit, the Associated press reports. The study, published in the journal Appetite, was lead by Cornell marketing professor and food psychology expert Brian Wansink. Based on roughly 14,000 responses collected from the USDA as well as other surveys collected by Cornell researchers, the study found that those who ate more sugary snacks also ate larger amounts of fruit than those who preferred salty snacks. "Fruit lovers," as the study calls them, also tended to eat more sweet foods than those who had a stronger preference for vegetables. The researchers hope the study can be useful for helping dieters transition to healthier foods.

Pregnancy can affect you in weird ways. Cravings - including the famous pickles and ice cream combination - are not uncommon, though they are frequently for ordinary things, like candy bars. Candy bar cravings aren't a problem when you can dash out to 7-11, but when you live in Namibia, it can be a lot more difficult to get a Reese's.

Angelina Jolie reportedly had a crate of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups flown to her in Namibia, straight from the Hershey's factory in Pennsylvania, when she was unable to obtain any locally. Reese's are good, but are they that good? It must have been some craving - either that or she's planning to share with Maddox, Zahara and Brad.