It’s always tempting to finish that lonely-looking second litre rather than put the ice cream tub back in the freezer. And now we know why.

Boffins in the US this week put out research proving that ice cream is as moreish as cocaine. Repeat use of the cold stuff dims the receptors in the brain that make it so damn nice. “Repeated overconsumption of high-fat or high-sugar foods may alter how the brain responds in a way that perpetuates further intake.” You don’t say.

But it’s not just ice cream that’s habit-forming. The report on the Daily Telegraph’s website included links to stories entitled ‘Junk food as ‘addictive as drugs”, from October 2009, and ‘Junk food ‘as addictive as heroin” from March 2010.

Obviously there’s something addictive about stories like this, with newspaper editors particularly at risk. Time for an intervention!