New research has found that compared with people of normal weight, obese people conjure up more vivid images of aromas. The ability to experience sensory fantasies so richly, said researchers at Yale School of Medicine, may make some people more vulnerable than others to following food cues, even when they’re not hungry.

In a study being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Ingestive Behavior, Yale researchers expanded on ongoing research aimed at understanding when and how people choose to eat food when they are not — or are no longer — hungry.

In the latest study, researchers at Yale’s John B. Pierce Laboratory had participants complete a series of questionnaires that asked them to imagine visual and odor cues. The subjects then rated the vividness of these cues. Individuals with a higher body mass index reported an ability to more vividly imagine odors associated with food, and to conjure up sensory images of nonfood odors as well.