Your present desire for bread, sausages may be over 500-yrs-old

New York: Your cravings for indulgent food such as bread and sausages is not modern, but may be historic and over 500-years-old, says a study.

The study, which is an analysis of European paintings of meals from the 16th century revealed that meat and bread were among the most commonly depicted foods in the paintings.

"Crazy meals involving less healthy foods aren't a modern craving," said lead author Brian Wansink, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab -- a US-based non-profit research firm.

"Our love affair with visually appealing, decadent or status foods is nothing new," explained Andrew Weislogel from Cornell University, adding, "it was already well-established 500 years ago."

Further, these paintings often featured food that was indulgent, aspirational or aesthetically pleasing.

"Paintings from what's sometimes called the Renaissance Period were loaded with the foods that modern diets warn us about - salt, sausages, bread and more bread," Wansink added.

For the study, the team focused on 140 paintings of family meals from the past 500 years.

Of the 36 "Renaissance Period" paintings, 86 per cent depicted bread and 61 per cent depicted meat, while only 22 per cent showed vegetables.

Interestingly, the most commonly painted foods were not the most readily available of the time. 

For example, the most commonly painted vegetable was an artichoke, the most commonly painted fruit was a lemon, and the most commonly painted meat was shellfish, usually lobster, the researchers said.

The results were published in the journal, Sage Open.