Do you crave gluttonous foods in the winter months? If you're like many, fatty foods seem to call your name.

Why DO people tend to eat more in the winter months? It may actually have more to do with brain function and serotonin levels, rather than knowing you can throw on a big sweater to cover up your "love handles."

In fact, there is a distinct relationship between sadness during the winter months and weight gain. 

Some researchers think this is part of our primitive impulses, just like many other animals. Studies have been done to test this, and one in particular tracked people who ate season to season. It turned out that as the winter days wore on, they consumed more calories. 

Many people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter season, which can significantly affect your mood and increase feelings of sadness, lethargy and depression. All of these feelings can trigger compulsive eating.

Dr. Norman Rosenthal is a world-renowned psychiatrist and author whose research is in describing and addressing SAD. Dr. Rosenthal provides you with a winter blues survival guide and how to avoid weight gain during the winter months.