Results from neuroscience research have determined that we'll pay more for bigger portions of the food that we crave. The research, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), has isolated a major hindrance when it comes to our attempts to live healthier.

How cravings affect our willingness to buy snacks

Anna Konova, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the New York University's (NYU) Center for Neural Science, said that individuals who exert effort to eat healthier foods can often be influenced by their cravings.

The results of the study revealed that most of the time cravings can overpower our conscious efforts to eat healthy foods. Most people will experience cravings, and this strong desire to snack on certain unhealthy foods affect the choices that we make every day. They can give us the sense of acquiring "those things that made us feel good in the past — even if those things may not be consistent with our current health goals."