Worried about rising credit card bills? A new study points to one way to curb your spending: Don't shop while hungry.

Worried about rising credit card bills? A new study points to one way to curb your spending: Don't shop while hungry.

51. Truly! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the Straight Path.

52. Then when 'Iesa (Jesus) came to know of their disbelief, he said: "Who will be my helpers in Allah's Cause?" Al-Hawariun (the disciples) said: "We are the helpers of Allah; we believe in Allah, and bear witness that we are Muslims (i.e. we submit to Allah)."

53. Our Lord! We believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger ['Iesa (Jesus)]; so write us down among those who bear witness (to the truth i.e. La ilaha ill-Allah - none has the right to be worshipped but Allah).

54. And they (disbelievers) plotted [to kill 'Iesa (Jesus)], and Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of the planners.

55. And (remember) when Allah said: "O 'Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you [of the forged statement that 'Iesa (Jesus) is Allah's son] of those who disbelieve, and I will make those who follow you (Monotheists, who worship none but Allah) superior to those who disbelieve [in the Oneness of Allah, or disbelieve in some of His Messengers, e.g. Muhammad , 'Iesa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), etc., or in His Holy Books, e.g. the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), the Qur'an] till the Day of Resurrection. Then you will return to Me and I will judge between you in the matters in which you used to dispute."

56. "As to those who disbelieve, I will punish them with a severe torment in this world and in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers."

57. And as for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah) and do righteous good deeds, Allah will pay them their reward in full. And Allah does not like the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers).

58. This is what We recite to you (O Muhammad ) of the Verses and the Wise Reminder (i.e. the Qur'an).

59. Verily, the likeness of 'Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!" - and he was.

60. (This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.

61. Then whoever disputes with you concerning him ['Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity) say: (O Muhammad ) "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves - then we pray and invoke (sincerely) the Curse of Allah upon those who lie."

62. Verily! This is the true narrative [about the story of 'Iesa (Jesus)], and, La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the One and the Only True God, Who has neither a wife nor a son). And indeed, Allah is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

63. And if they turn away (and do not accept these true proofs and evidences), then surely, Allah is All-Aware of those who do mischief.3. Aal-'Imran

Experiments suggest that hunger may push people into buying more than they would when full, and that includes nonfood items.

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"I think consumers should be aware of this -- that they may spend more money online or in a store if they're hungry while they shop," said study lead author Alison Jing Xu, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "If you're hungry, think twice."

She said that hunger seems to drive people to acquire food, of course, but that biological drive may "spill over and put consumers into the mode of wanting more stuff in general."

"Our thoughts originate in hunger and food, but once those thoughts are in our minds they end up guiding our decisions in the nonfood domain," Xu reasoned.

Xu, along with colleagues Norbert Schwarz and Robert Wyer Jr., published the findings this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to the researchers, it has long been known that hunger causes people to spend more time and money buying more food. Other research has even suggested that hunger boosts a man's attraction to heavier women -- the theory being that heavier women may signal greater access to food.

But can the greediness that hunger prompts in people drive a desire to consume in general, whether the item is a doughnut or a DVD?

To find out, Xu's team conducted five experiments involving about 76 participants each.

The initial group played a word game, in which they were asked to recall and make note of flashcards depicting either actual words or gibberish. Those who reported being hungrier during the test were more likely to correctly identify real words when they were related to a hunger theme (such as "hunger," "starve," "appetite" and "famine") or an acquisition theme (such as "want," "obtain" and "gain").

A second group was polled to gauge their desire for both food and nonfood items while entering a cafe to eat, and then again after eating. The result: all indicated a greater desire for both food and nonfood items before they ate than after.

A third group was asked what they thought of a specific office binder clipand how many they'd want for a free tryout. The researchers found that while hunger didn't seem to affect how much anyone liked or disliked the clips, people who were hungrier generally asked for more free clips.

A fourth group took part in the same binder clip experiment, but was told not to eat for four hours before being presented with a cake. Some were told to eat cake while others were not. Those who ate asked for fewer binder clip freebies than those who had no cake at testing.

It was the fifth experiment, conducted in "real world" conditions, that seemed to cinch the deal. The researchers asked actual department store shoppers how hungry they were as the shoppers exited the store (which sold mostly nonfood items). A scan of the shoppers' receipts showed that those who were hungrier had purchased more nonfood items -- even after accounting for their general mood and how much time they had spent shopping.

While the study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, "this is the first time it has been shown that hunger can influence the acquisition of nonfood products," Xu said.

Edward Abramson, professor emeritus of psychology at California State University in Chico, called the study "fascinating."

"Hunger is a complex phenomenon involving the hormones and the brain," he noted. "So it's not necessarily that easy to make quick sense of this finding. But it occurs to me that this might have to do with hunger's interference with impulse control. And by that I mean that the extent to which you are hungry may divert your conscious awareness of what you should buy or shouldn't buy, or what your budget is.

"Our normal rational thinking would normally put limits on how we acquire things," he added, "because we either don't have the money or maybe we don't want to appear greedy. But with hunger, maybe some of that goes out the window."

Hunger is our bodies' way of driving us to find food and eat to stay alive. It is a very powerful human instinct which can compel us to extremes of behaviour.

Hunger is our bodies' response to having eaten less than normal. It is caused by the brain reading changes in the levels of hormones and nutrients in the blood.

It is our reaction to this feeling that can make us overeat or eat the wrong things. So if we understand our hunger, can we control it better?

How full we feel is strongly influenced by what we eat. If we do not feel full our brains want to keep searching for food.

Different types of food we eat affect the brain in various ways. For example, fatty foods trick the brain into believing that you have eaten fewer calories than you actually have, causing you to overeat. This is because fatty foods such as butter and fried foods contain a lot of densely packed energy.

However, other foods give a lasting sense of fullness. Fibre triggers the release of gut hormones that make you feel full. A low fibre diet though, with little or no wholemeal produce or fruit and vegetables, may leave you open to feelings of hunger.

Foods with a low GI (glycaemic index) such as nuts, vegetables and beans release energy more slowly than high GI food such as white bread and sugar. Eating more low GI foods will suppress your hunger by increasing levels of gut hormones that help you feel fuller for longer

On What's the Right Diet for You: A Horizon Special participants took part in an experiment to investigate how the type of food you eat affects your hunger and hunger hormones. A group made up of Feasters, those who don't feel full after meals, were given different meals. One group was given food with high GI and the other group food with low GI. They then picked strawberries until they felt hungry again. The number of strawberries collected is used as an indicator of how long they stayed full

Hormones can have a very powerful effect on our diets too. Hormones are molecules which regulate biological processes and act as chemical signals between our organs.

Two hormones, called GLP-1 and PYY, send messages from the gut to the brain to say when you are full. Levels increase after eating, telling your brain that you are full. Some people with low amounts of these hormones, such as the Feasters in our programme, need to be even more careful about eating the right diet as they are less likely to feel full after eating a normal meal.

Several other hormones influence hunger. Two major ones which tip the balance between hunger and fullness are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is released from the body's long term fat stores, which we all have, and suppresses hunger while ghrelin causes stomach rumblings as a physical reminder to eat.

Obese people have often built up a resistance to the effects of leptin. This is because over a long period their bodies have got used to such high levels diminishing its effect. For an overweight person trying to diet the drop in leptin that accompanies any fall in body fat stores can feel like starving as the reduced leptin levels feel too low

We are also affected by other hormones which influence our appetite.

One of those hormones is serotonin which makes you feel happy after eating. Sugary foods produce a quick boost of energy which can elevate mood temporarily.

Food is like a drug, and the same areas of the brain are activated by food as by drug addiction. Food can be strongly linked to social situations such as going out for a meal with friends, so it can be difficult to eat less as this would impact on your social life.

Emotional eating can also be a response to stress. The stress hormone cortisol triggers a craving for foods that give you a fast release of energy – including sugary and fatty food. Stress hormones encourage fat cells to form which gives the body more space to store fat.

Some people overeat when they are stressed or depressed, but others overeat when they are happy. However, there are huge individual differences, and seasonal changes – most people eat more in winter

Hunger is caused by a number of factors. The feeling of hunger itself is the result of interactions between the brain and digestive system. But there are ways we can control it.

The context in which you eat is important and habit forming. Eating at regular times can help reduce irresistible feelings of hunger.

Quick diets won't make you feel less hungry, but changing habits can help reduce hunger. Make small, long-lasting changes to diet and exercise. Stick to a list when shopping and don't shop when stressed.

Eating smaller portions from smaller plates can also help you eat less while not feeling hungry any quicker. However, breaking bad habits can be psychologically difficult and can trigger a return to poor eating or a worsening of diet