REUTERS: When it comes to cookies, some children really can't help themselves, British researchers said on Monday.

In an experiment, researchers offered 131 4- to 5-year-olds a plate of cookies after they had eaten a meal.

They found that the children who ate more cookies were more likely to have certain variations of the FTO gene, a gene linked to larger body size, suggesting that for some overeating is genetically programmed.

"This research ... tells us more about how some children are more responsive to signals in their bodies encouraging them to eat when full than others," said Jane Wardle of University College London, who led the study.

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