Accredited practising dietitian Steph Schatz, from weight loss app Second Nature, says that bliss point foods have the power to “override the natural ‘stop’ signal in our brain that tells when we’re full and satisfied”.

“It also releases a neurotransmitter known as dopamine, the happiness hormone, which gives us a sense of reward and pleasure. It’s the same feeling we get when we tick something off our to-do list.”

It’s important to know the food industry spends a lot of money and has resources, researchers and psychologists to develop these foods.

Steph Schatz, Second Nature accredited practising dietitian

What that does, Schatz explains, is it can make you associate certain foods with feeling happy, and your brain tells you to return to this behaviour when you’re stressed or in need of comfort.

While the idea of the bliss point might bring to mind famously moreish treats such as biscuits and chips, it’s also a concept that is being applied in foods seen as “healthy”, explains Michael Moss, a US award-winning journalist and author of Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us.

“With more and more people caring about what they put in their bodies, the whole processed food industry is now scrambling to make their products seem healthier, and much of that seems to be fakery,” Moss says.

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“In their effort to boost sales the companies might reduce the sugar a bit and add in some protein and call it healthy and what’s left is still engineered to be blissful because that’s always the bottom line, it has to attract and wow us, but the product is still highly processed and densely caloric and devoid of good stuff like fibre.

“Yet it’s easy for us to get fooled by the semblance of health, given that we get [pulled] by their marketing and the sales pitch on the front of their packages.”

Schatz agrees, saying that ingredients are being heaped into foods that you might not expect to contain them. She points to added sugars in premade dips like guacamole and hummus, salad dressings, “healthy” popcorn, raw desserts, muesli bars, canned soups and yoghurts.

“It’s important to know the food industry spends a lot of money and has resources, researchers and psychologists to develop these foods to have us coming back for more,” Schatz says.

“There are brands that [are healthier] than others but a lot of premade products, when you look on the back of an ingredients list, you see salt or sugar added to them now.”

UNSW associate lecturer Dr Alison Jones, from the School of Chemical Engineering, says when a company is trying to introduce a food to the market, it’s “quite a risky thing”.

“So if you have money you will put money into things like market research and sensory research,” Jones says.

“Products are sitting on the shelf competing with each other and you’re trying to make sure yours has the competitive advantage.”

UNSW Professor Johannes le Coutre, who also worked in the food industry, does not support the bliss point concept and says it promotes a “simplistic” view of the obesity crisis.

“Food producers try to cater to food preferences and why wouldnt they?” he asks. “Nobody tries to make bad-tasting foods.”

Le Coutre says it is more valuable for people to address their own unhealthy eating behaviours, such as munching in front of the TV, and focus on adopting a balanced diet.

“It’s easy to blame the food producers and become defensive rather than take your own responsibility.”

Sydney museum director Gill Nicol, 58, used to struggle with diet but says that finding out about the bliss point felt like a lightbulb moment and it helped her reduce her self-blame.

“I would eat a whole packet of biscuits or half a cake and I got really scared that I couldn’t control myself,” Nicol says. “This is a reminder that it’s not just me being all weak and feeble… you’re fighting even more than you think you are.”

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Since January, she has been focusing on eating slowly and mindfully, as well as making her own food as much as possible.

Schatz’s key piece of advice is to read the list of ingredients on the back of all products, even ones claiming to be healthy. She suggests comparing two or three of the same type of product and looking at the added sugar, salt and fat content.

“Look at what point they are listed in the ingredients list. If sugar is [near the] top, it’s a high sugar product versus if it’s towards the bottom of the list.”

Schatz warns that the nutrition panel often doesn’t differentiate between naturally occurring sugar (like lactose in milk) and added sugar, but says if there’s a product that doesn’t contain naturally occurring sugar, a rough guide is there should be less than 5 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

Schatz also recommends being hyper aware of why you’re reaching for certain foods that might have high sugar or fat content.

“If you’re genuinely hungry and wanting to eat something that’s absolutely fine. But if you’re stressed or feeling down… it’s important to think about another strategy that isn’t food-based to give you the same reward, like calling a friend for an energy boost, or going for a light walk, having a warm bath or listening to your favourite music.”

While eating, she recommends checking in with yourself and looking for hunger cues. “Try to break the automated habit of going back for more when you might be full.”

In his book, Moss assures that while food manufacturers have “salt, sugar and fat on their side”, people should know they have power to make choices.

“After all, we decide what we buy. We decide how much to eat.”