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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but could looking at certain pictures be making you pack on the pounds? That's what new research is saying.

According to a study, looking at images of high-calorie foods stimulates the brain's appetite control center and results in an increased desire for food. The findings from the study will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

"This stimulation of the brain's reward areas may contribute to overeating and obesity," said the study's Senior Author Kathleen Page. "We thought this was a striking finding, because the current environment is inundated with advertisements showing images of high-calorie foods."

The researchers observed the brain responses of 13 obese, Hispanic young women. Hispanic young women were chosen to be observed because they are considered to be "high risk for continued weight gain and obesity."

Each participant had two fMRI scans and images of high-calorie foods, such as ice cream and cupcakes, as well as low-calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and non-food items could be seen. After each block of similar images, participants rated, on a scale of 1 to 10, their hunger and their desire for either sweet or savory foods.

Halfway through the scans, participants drank 50 grams of glucose-the amount of sugar in a can of soda-on one occasion and an equivalent amount of fructose on another occasion. These two simple sugars make up both table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

The study showed that simply viewing high-calorie food images activated brain regions that control appetite and reward, unlike pictures of non-foods. Viewing pictures of high-calorie foods also significantly increased ratings of hunger and desire for sweet and savory foods.

Ratings of hunger and desire for savory foods also were higher after ingestion of either sugar drink. Compared with glucose ingestion, fructose tended to produce greater activation of brain regions involved in reward and motivation for food. "These findings," Page said, "suggest that added sweeteners could be one of the main contributors to the obesity epidemic."