For anyone who craves a chunk of chocolate or a slice of cake after their meals, your limited willpower could just get the shutdown it needs… New research has proven that if you’re craving chocolate or suffer from a serious sweet tooth, all you might need is a 15 minute walk. With previous studies suggesting 97% of women and 68% of men experience food cravings, it’s been long established that being stressed or feeling down tend to drive us straight to the goodie press. In a new study published in PLOS ONE, researchers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, wanted to investigate whether replacing sedentary behaviour (i.e. sitting at your desk or watching TV) with a 15-minute bout of physical activity, would work in breaking the habit of snacking. The team recruited 47 overweight people with a mean age of 28 who reported eating chocolate or other high-calorie sugary snacks on a daily basis. The participants were asked not to eat these foods for 3 days before they were randomized into one of two groups. The participants were then divided into two groups – with one group asked to walk briskly on a treadmill while the second group were asked to sit quietly for the same time frame. Both groups were then asked to sit quietly for five minutes before taking part in a series of stress tests. Following the tests, both groups were then asked to select one sugary snack of their choice and to hold if for 30 seconds, while researchers measured both heart rate and blood pressure. So who passed the test? Well apparently, those who had been running on a treadmill reported decreased cravings compared to those who had been sitting silently. So ladies, the next time you’re looking for a sugar hit but don’t want to break the calorie bank, pull on your runners. You’ll be 15 minutes away from staying away from the chocolatey goodness.