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Tackle hangry head on

Photo: Getty Images.

There’s nothing like hunger pangs to throw your weight loss plans off course. You have Greek yogurt for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and then go home and eat the whole kitchen (accidently of course).

Luckily, scientists have identified the brain cells that release hunger signals – raising hope of a drug that switches off that frustrating feeling.

No longer craving extra kilojoules, your weight loss goals will be more easily achieved and scientists say dieters will feel less irritable.

Related: Easy ways to curb cravings

It’s called the ‘hunger hub’ or PVH MC4R neurons to British and US researchers who carried out the study.

Switching them on amps up hunger, while turning them off kills the appetite, without creating feelings of nausea or other unpleasant sensations.

Instead, it works by quelling hunger pangs and calming feelings of irritation that often accompany them, says Dr Alastair Garfield from Edinburgh University.

Related: Five ways you're hydrating wrong

“If you could design a magic bullet, something that could fly through the brain and hit just these cells, but the problem is that it is very difficult to design a drug that is so specific to one area of the brain,” he says.

Dr Matthew Capehorn, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said that although the findings could help speed the search for new medicines, these will do little to help those who comfort eat or snack out of boredom.

Related: 10 healthy-eating myths busted

"The only way to really tackle why we sometimes eat when we are not truly hungry is to identify the reasons why we do this and teach individuals behaviour change techniques to break these habits," he added.

We rate snacking on foods high in fibre and protein to keep you feeling fuller for longer, such as raw nuts or an apple topped with almond butter.