Those who skip breakfast to lose weight not only eat more for lunch, they also crave fatty and sugary foods, researchers say.

Over time, this could lead to slimmers piling on the pounds, despite their best intentions, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

The warning comes from doctors and scientists at Imperial College London who scanned the brains of 21 healthy young men and women while they looked at pictures of various foods.

The volunteers also rated how appealing they found the foods, which ranged from salads and vegetables to calorie-laden chocolates, desserts, cakes, pizzas and burgers.