Nobody plans to eat an entire bag of chips. It just happens. According to the study, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like potato chips stimulate the brain in a way that natural foods don’t, making them especially hard to resist.
The fried starch and oil combo hits your brain’s reward system, triggering a dopamine rush that keeps you reaching for more. Meanwhile, chips dissolve too fast for your brain to register, tricking you into thinking you haven’t eaten much — so you just keep going.
Then there’s the salt factor. Sodium activates pleasure receptors and makes you thirsty, which is why chips pair so well with soda — another UPF trap that keeps the craving cycle going.
Point being, Lay’s “betcha can’t eat just one” is more exact science than a bet.
