According to a new study, the brain can be trained to prefer healthier, low-calorie foods.

Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University and at Massachusetts General Hospital hypothesized that humans are not necessarily born loving unhealthy foods, but rather develop a liking to such foods through a conditioning process over time.

Study co-author Sai Krupa Das, Ph.D., a scientist in the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA and an assistant professor at the Friedman School, and colleagues analyzed the reward system in 13 overweight and obese women and men. Eight of the participants were also part of a new weight-loss program designed by scientists at Tufts University, and five were part of a control group.

Both groups of participants had MRIs conducted at the beginning and end of a six-month time frame. After six months, the area of the brain associated with a reward system showed an increased sensitivity to healthier, low-calorie foods, as well as an increased level of enjoyment while consuming such foods.

“The weight loss program is specifically designed to change how people react to different foods, and our study shows those who participated in it had an increased desire for healthier foods along with a decreased preference for unhealthy foods, the combined effects of which are probably critical for sustainable weight control,” said Das in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes.