I don’t know what your grandma called it — mine called it the "special pocket"— but it’s that special place where you can still fit dessert even after your 5-year-old self told your parents that you were too full to eat the rest of your meal.
Turns out even though Grandma was just trying to do her slightly smug duty of helping you defy your parents and still get dessert, there is some scientific backing for the “special pocket” that many stuffing themselves on Thanksgiving Day will experience.
In a more general explanation about overeating a few months ago, ASAP Science explained that this mechanism could go all the way back to times when eating a meal high in fat and sugar wasn’t a regular occurrence.
As the doodle-driven video explains, there are hormones that help tell our brain we’re full to stop eating, but fat and sugar can override this system.
Watch the video for more details on why/how we allow ourselves to overeat: