How do we get children to eat their vegetables and drink more water? Fact-filled TV adverts? ...Funny radio characters? ...Computer games?
Well maybe so!
Two games, "Escape from Diab" and "Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space" are video games specifically designed to lower risks of type 2 diabetes and obesity by changing behaviors.
"Diab and Nanoswarm were designed as epic video game adventures, comparable to commercial quality video games. These games incorporated a broad diversity of behavior change procedures woven in and around engrossing stories. The games motivated players to substantially improve diet behaviors," according to lead investigator Tom Baranowski, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service supported Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine. "Serious video games hold promise, but their effectiveness and mechanisms of change among youth need to be more thoroughly investigated."
Amazingly they found that children actually ate more fruit and veg per day, however it didn't increase the amount of water they drank or physical activity. These children basically wanted to sit inside, play computer games and eat an apple! I guess it's better than a chocolate bar!
Oh well, you can't win them all!
But it's a huge step forward in using a medium that children really like to get them to lead healthier lives!
Link to Paper
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Monday, 13 December 2010
Imaginary food is just as filling!
A new study has found that when you imagine eating a certain food, it reduces your actual consumption of that food.
"These findings suggest that trying to suppress one's thoughts of desired foods in order to curb cravings for those foods is a fundamentally flawed strategy," said Carey Morewedge, lead author of this study. "Our studies found that instead, people who repeatedly imagined the consumption of a morsel of food -- such as an M&M or cube of cheese -- subsequently consumed less of that food than did people who imagined consuming the food a few times or performed a different but similarly engaging task. We think these findings will help develop future interventions to reduce cravings for things such as unhealthy food, drugs and cigarettes, and hope they will help us learn how to help people make healthier food choices."
In the first experiment, participants imagined performing 33 repetitive actions, one at a time.
A second group imagined inserting 30 quarters into a laundry machine and then imagined eating 3 M&M'S.
A third group imagined inserting three quarters into a laundry machine and then imagined eating 30 M&M'S.
All the while, a control group imagined inserting 33 quarters into a laundry machine.
Next, all participants ate freely from a bowl filled with M&M'S. Participants who imagined eating 30 M&M'S actually ate significantly fewer M&M'S than did participants in the other groups.
To ensure that the results were due to imagined consumption of M&M'S rather than the control task, the next experiment manipulated the experience imagined (inserting quarters or eating M&M'S) and the number of times it was imagined. Again, the participants who imagined eating 30 M&M'S subsequently consumed fewer M&M'S than did the participants in the other groups.
"Habituation is one of the fundamental processes that determine how much we consume of a food or a product, when to stop consuming it, and when to switch to consuming another food or product," Vosgerau said. "Our findings show that habituation is not only governed by the sensory inputs of sight, smell, sound and touch, but also by how the consumption experience is mentally represented. To some extent, merely imagining an experience is a substitute for actual experience. The difference between imagining and experiencing may be smaller than previously assumed."
So if you want to stop craving that tasty christmas food come January, just think about eating it a little more often and watch your cravings melt away!
Link to Paper
"These findings suggest that trying to suppress one's thoughts of desired foods in order to curb cravings for those foods is a fundamentally flawed strategy," said Carey Morewedge, lead author of this study. "Our studies found that instead, people who repeatedly imagined the consumption of a morsel of food -- such as an M&M or cube of cheese -- subsequently consumed less of that food than did people who imagined consuming the food a few times or performed a different but similarly engaging task. We think these findings will help develop future interventions to reduce cravings for things such as unhealthy food, drugs and cigarettes, and hope they will help us learn how to help people make healthier food choices."
In the first experiment, participants imagined performing 33 repetitive actions, one at a time.
A second group imagined inserting 30 quarters into a laundry machine and then imagined eating 3 M&M'S.
A third group imagined inserting three quarters into a laundry machine and then imagined eating 30 M&M'S.
All the while, a control group imagined inserting 33 quarters into a laundry machine.
Next, all participants ate freely from a bowl filled with M&M'S. Participants who imagined eating 30 M&M'S actually ate significantly fewer M&M'S than did participants in the other groups.
To ensure that the results were due to imagined consumption of M&M'S rather than the control task, the next experiment manipulated the experience imagined (inserting quarters or eating M&M'S) and the number of times it was imagined. Again, the participants who imagined eating 30 M&M'S subsequently consumed fewer M&M'S than did the participants in the other groups.
"Habituation is one of the fundamental processes that determine how much we consume of a food or a product, when to stop consuming it, and when to switch to consuming another food or product," Vosgerau said. "Our findings show that habituation is not only governed by the sensory inputs of sight, smell, sound and touch, but also by how the consumption experience is mentally represented. To some extent, merely imagining an experience is a substitute for actual experience. The difference between imagining and experiencing may be smaller than previously assumed."
So if you want to stop craving that tasty christmas food come January, just think about eating it a little more often and watch your cravings melt away!
Link to Paper
Monday, 15 November 2010
2 Articles into Obesity
Two interesting articles caught my eye this week on the Subject of Obesity.
1. Researchers confirmed that Obesity and Overeating are directly linked to excessive activity in a specific gene found in the human body.
You can't argue with a headline like that! It immediately grabbed my attention.
In this study the researchers bred mice with a particular gene that was identified in 2007 amongst heavier human subjects, which they believed could be the 'fat' gene. In the recent study they found that the mice with overactivity in this gene, "although healthy, ate more and became fatter than normal mice."
I argue that I wouldn't say these mice (nor people with this gene) are 'genetically' obese, they just eat more. Although their body may be telling them that they are hungry, when perhaps they are not, they don't have to eat and therefore put on weight.
Still, regardless of what people can conclude, it was an interesting study.
2. Lose weight by eating junk food?
A researcher recently proved that this IS possible. How? Just don't overeat!
Mark Haub, nutrition professor, believed that "It's all about how much you eat, not what you eat."
He tested the theory on himself, only eating a maximum of 1800 calories today (down from the usual 2600) and he ate only food that you would typically found in vending machines.
After 2 months of his experiment, his weight dropped to 174 pounds, and his BMI dropped to a healthy 24.9. The experiment even improved his other health statistics!
I wouldn't recommend this diet, and nor did he, but it is interesting how this actually seems, in a roundabout way, to back up the first article.
Although some may have this overactive gene, in the end it really does seem to be the quantity of what you eat that determines your weight. As Mark Haub showed, quantity makes a large difference, and quality seems to take a step back. The mice study shows that an veractive gene is merely causing people to eat more, increasing their weight.
To me, this evidence shows very clearly that it is nurture that alters our weight and nature is sitting the fight of Obesity out.
Article 1: Mice
Article 2: Mark Haub
1. Researchers confirmed that Obesity and Overeating are directly linked to excessive activity in a specific gene found in the human body.
You can't argue with a headline like that! It immediately grabbed my attention.
In this study the researchers bred mice with a particular gene that was identified in 2007 amongst heavier human subjects, which they believed could be the 'fat' gene. In the recent study they found that the mice with overactivity in this gene, "although healthy, ate more and became fatter than normal mice."
I argue that I wouldn't say these mice (nor people with this gene) are 'genetically' obese, they just eat more. Although their body may be telling them that they are hungry, when perhaps they are not, they don't have to eat and therefore put on weight.
Still, regardless of what people can conclude, it was an interesting study.
2. Lose weight by eating junk food?
A researcher recently proved that this IS possible. How? Just don't overeat!
Mark Haub, nutrition professor, believed that "It's all about how much you eat, not what you eat."
He tested the theory on himself, only eating a maximum of 1800 calories today (down from the usual 2600) and he ate only food that you would typically found in vending machines.
After 2 months of his experiment, his weight dropped to 174 pounds, and his BMI dropped to a healthy 24.9. The experiment even improved his other health statistics!
I wouldn't recommend this diet, and nor did he, but it is interesting how this actually seems, in a roundabout way, to back up the first article.
Although some may have this overactive gene, in the end it really does seem to be the quantity of what you eat that determines your weight. As Mark Haub showed, quantity makes a large difference, and quality seems to take a step back. The mice study shows that an veractive gene is merely causing people to eat more, increasing their weight.
To me, this evidence shows very clearly that it is nurture that alters our weight and nature is sitting the fight of Obesity out.
Article 1: Mice
Article 2: Mark Haub
Friday, 15 October 2010
Background noise affects taste of foods
A news article I read the other day:
The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods.
Diners were blindfoldee and has to judge the sweetness, saltiness, and crunchiness, as well as overall flavour, of foods as they were played white noise. Interstingly, whilst louder noise reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness, it increased the measure of crunch.
"In a comparatively small study, 48 participants were fed sweet foods such as biscuits or salty ones such as crisps, while listening to silence or noise through headphones.
Meanwhile they rated the intensity of the flavours and of their liking.
In noisier settings, foods were rated less salty or sweet than they were in the absence of background noise, but were rated to be more crunchy.
"The evidence points to this effect being down to where your attention lies - if the background noise is loud it might draw your attention to that, away from the food," Dr Woods said."
The article went on to talk about how this was the reason airplane food tasted so bland, which may be one of the reasons...(quality of food may be another but it's been a number of years since I was on a plane, perhaps it's different to how I imagine!)
It does highlight the interesting idea of attention though, and the white noise acts as a distracter, meaning we arn't concentrating on the food in our mouth, but instead to our other senses. But does it make a difference if the participant is blindfolded or not? Does the inclusion/ommision of sensation to the eyes impact on the taste of food? Surely if extra information to the ears can divide attention then the same could happen with visual information?
So, any restaurant owners want to boost their ratngs? Look to making your restaurant quieter - and possibly darker! - and your food could potentially taste far better, even if less crunchy!
Link to Article
Link to study
The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods.
Diners were blindfoldee and has to judge the sweetness, saltiness, and crunchiness, as well as overall flavour, of foods as they were played white noise. Interstingly, whilst louder noise reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness, it increased the measure of crunch.
"In a comparatively small study, 48 participants were fed sweet foods such as biscuits or salty ones such as crisps, while listening to silence or noise through headphones.
Meanwhile they rated the intensity of the flavours and of their liking.
In noisier settings, foods were rated less salty or sweet than they were in the absence of background noise, but were rated to be more crunchy.
"The evidence points to this effect being down to where your attention lies - if the background noise is loud it might draw your attention to that, away from the food," Dr Woods said."
The article went on to talk about how this was the reason airplane food tasted so bland, which may be one of the reasons...(quality of food may be another but it's been a number of years since I was on a plane, perhaps it's different to how I imagine!)
It does highlight the interesting idea of attention though, and the white noise acts as a distracter, meaning we arn't concentrating on the food in our mouth, but instead to our other senses. But does it make a difference if the participant is blindfolded or not? Does the inclusion/ommision of sensation to the eyes impact on the taste of food? Surely if extra information to the ears can divide attention then the same could happen with visual information?
So, any restaurant owners want to boost their ratngs? Look to making your restaurant quieter - and possibly darker! - and your food could potentially taste far better, even if less crunchy!
Link to Article
Link to study
Friday, 8 October 2010
Virtual Food Causes Stress in Patients Affected by Eating Disorders
Food presented in a virtual reality (VR) environment causes the same emotional responses as real food.
The 10 anorexic, 10 bulimic and 10 control participants, all women, were initially shown a series of 6 real high-calorie foods placed on a table in front of them.
Their heart rate and skin conductance, as well as their psychological stress were measured during the exposure. This process was then repeated with a slideshow of the same foods, and a VR trip into a computer-generated diner where they could interact with the virtual version of the same 6 items. The participants' level of stress was statistically identical whether in virtual reality or real exposure.
Speaking about the results, Gorini said, "Since real and virtual exposure elicit a comparable level of stress we may eventually see VR being used to screen, evaluate, and treat the emotional reactions provoked by specific stimuli in patients affected by different psychological disorders."
Interesting study showing how virtual food can create a response within those with Eating Disorders.
Could this affect advertising in the future? Especially as advertising is slowly moving to becoming more interactive..
Link to Article
The 10 anorexic, 10 bulimic and 10 control participants, all women, were initially shown a series of 6 real high-calorie foods placed on a table in front of them.
Their heart rate and skin conductance, as well as their psychological stress were measured during the exposure. This process was then repeated with a slideshow of the same foods, and a VR trip into a computer-generated diner where they could interact with the virtual version of the same 6 items. The participants' level of stress was statistically identical whether in virtual reality or real exposure.
Speaking about the results, Gorini said, "Since real and virtual exposure elicit a comparable level of stress we may eventually see VR being used to screen, evaluate, and treat the emotional reactions provoked by specific stimuli in patients affected by different psychological disorders."
Interesting study showing how virtual food can create a response within those with Eating Disorders.
Could this affect advertising in the future? Especially as advertising is slowly moving to becoming more interactive..
Link to Article
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Nutrients in milk link to obesity
Taken from yahoo news:
Feeding babies milk enriched with nutrients to promote faster weight gain in infancy makes them fatter later in life, researchers have suggested.
Body fat mass in five to eight-year-olds was 22% to 38% greater in those who were given nutrient-enriched milk as babies than those who had standard formula, according to a team based at the University College London Institute of Child Health.
Researchers looked at two randomised, controlled, double blind studies - where neither they nor the mothers knew which kind of milk they were assigned - involving small newborn babies in hospitals in Cambridge, Nottingham, Leicester and Glasgow.
Mothers who had no plans to breastfeed were given either standard formula milk or a formula containing extra protein, energy-boosters, vitamins and minerals.
In the first study, which was conducted on 299 babies between 1993 and 1995, the formula was used for nine months.
Researchers then measured the body fat of 153 (51%) of the children in their homes between 1999 and 2002.
The second study involved 246 infants between 2003 and 2005 - until it was stopped early due to evidence of the link between early over-nutrition and later obesity - of whom 90 (37%) were followed up to assess fat levels in 2008-09.
Professor Atul Singhal, from the MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health, who led the study, said: "This study robustly demonstrates a link between early nutrition and having more fat in later life in humans - a finding suggested by previous studies and confirmed in many other animals."
It is interesting to think that what we eat/drink in infancy can have such a poweful affect on our lives in adulthood.
Link to Article
Feeding babies milk enriched with nutrients to promote faster weight gain in infancy makes them fatter later in life, researchers have suggested.
Body fat mass in five to eight-year-olds was 22% to 38% greater in those who were given nutrient-enriched milk as babies than those who had standard formula, according to a team based at the University College London Institute of Child Health.
Researchers looked at two randomised, controlled, double blind studies - where neither they nor the mothers knew which kind of milk they were assigned - involving small newborn babies in hospitals in Cambridge, Nottingham, Leicester and Glasgow.
Mothers who had no plans to breastfeed were given either standard formula milk or a formula containing extra protein, energy-boosters, vitamins and minerals.
In the first study, which was conducted on 299 babies between 1993 and 1995, the formula was used for nine months.
Researchers then measured the body fat of 153 (51%) of the children in their homes between 1999 and 2002.
The second study involved 246 infants between 2003 and 2005 - until it was stopped early due to evidence of the link between early over-nutrition and later obesity - of whom 90 (37%) were followed up to assess fat levels in 2008-09.
Professor Atul Singhal, from the MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health, who led the study, said: "This study robustly demonstrates a link between early nutrition and having more fat in later life in humans - a finding suggested by previous studies and confirmed in many other animals."
It is interesting to think that what we eat/drink in infancy can have such a poweful affect on our lives in adulthood.
Link to Article
The Mechanism that links Obesity and Addiction
When an animal finds food in the wild, it is a rewarding stimulus for the animal and is recognized by the brain by the release of dopamine.
Illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines also cause the release of dopamine and therefore make people feel rewarded when they take drugs. The release of dopamine also occurs in tasty and highly-caloric foods. For this reason it's clear that dopamine has a role in addiction and the development of obesity.
Professor Bill Colmers set out to find if dopamine may have an effect on the memory-forming brain cells in the dentate gyrus. 'Conditioned Place Preference' is the name given to the behaviour when an animal knows it can expect rewarding stimuli, like a treat, in a certain location. This forms spatial memories in the dentate gyrus.
They found that when dopamine was added, it increased the excitability in part of the brain cell called the dendrites. A chemical secreted by the brain, Neuropeptide Y, had the opposite effect making the cells less excitable.
"You can find the fridge and you know there's good stuff in there, so you can find it in your sleep, and people do," said Colmers. "So there's this whole reward aspect to place that we've been able to unravel."
So if location and 'reward' can be linked, then avoiding places where we usually have a 'treat' (e.g. not going to the employee lounge on our breaks!) may help reduce those cravings for high-calorie foods. Similar findings have already been talked about in regards to drug use, (e.g. smokers not sitting outside can help curb the need to smoke) but with this finding used to explain eating behaviour and obesity, it shows how obesity and drugs addiction are not worlds apart.
Link to Article
Illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines also cause the release of dopamine and therefore make people feel rewarded when they take drugs. The release of dopamine also occurs in tasty and highly-caloric foods. For this reason it's clear that dopamine has a role in addiction and the development of obesity.
Professor Bill Colmers set out to find if dopamine may have an effect on the memory-forming brain cells in the dentate gyrus. 'Conditioned Place Preference' is the name given to the behaviour when an animal knows it can expect rewarding stimuli, like a treat, in a certain location. This forms spatial memories in the dentate gyrus.
They found that when dopamine was added, it increased the excitability in part of the brain cell called the dendrites. A chemical secreted by the brain, Neuropeptide Y, had the opposite effect making the cells less excitable.
"You can find the fridge and you know there's good stuff in there, so you can find it in your sleep, and people do," said Colmers. "So there's this whole reward aspect to place that we've been able to unravel."
So if location and 'reward' can be linked, then avoiding places where we usually have a 'treat' (e.g. not going to the employee lounge on our breaks!) may help reduce those cravings for high-calorie foods. Similar findings have already been talked about in regards to drug use, (e.g. smokers not sitting outside can help curb the need to smoke) but with this finding used to explain eating behaviour and obesity, it shows how obesity and drugs addiction are not worlds apart.
Link to Article
Friday, 1 October 2010
How can people be motivated to make better health choices?
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) is considering ways to persuade people to take better care of their health, due to the considerable impact that unhealthy habits are having on the NHS.
The NICE study examined a series of proposals, including one in Kent which pays dieters up to £425 for losing weight and another in Scotland which gives pregnant women shopping vouchers worth up to £650 for quitting smoking.
According to the proposals being considered by the health watchdog for England and Wales - people could be given cash incentives to encourage them to give up smoking or to lose weight.
- Can cash incentives motivate people to make better health choices?
- Are there better ways to encourage people to take care of their health or we are now at our last resort – hard cash?
- Would offering money as an incentive to improve health be cost-effective for the NHS or would the money be better spent elsewhere?
- Is it the right way forward?
Please vote – we will make sure that your answers are known to those who make decisions on the matter.
Please feel free to send us your views on the matter as well as to post comments in the comments box of the poll or on our Psychology & Psychotherapy Blog.
This is an important topic closely linked to our training on Motivational Interviewing and Beyond (http://www.skillsdevelopment.co.uk/seminars.php?courseid=5) and we will definitely address this issue as part of our course discussion. However, we would like to give all of you the opportunity to express your opinion whether you are taking part in the course or not.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Monday, 27 September 2010
Teasing about weight and its affect on pre-teens
"We tend to think of adolescence as the time when kids become sensitive about their body image, but our findings suggest that the seeds of body dissatisfaction are actually being sown much earlier," said Timothy D. Nelson.
For the study, Nelson and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of public school students whose average age was 10.8 years. They collected participants' heights and weights and calculated their Body Mass Index, then examined the relationships between weight-related criticism and children's perceptions of themselves.
Their results showed that overweight pre-teens who endured weight-based criticism tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than students who weren't teased about their weight.
Because children who develop such negative views of their bodies are at higher risk for internalizing problems, developing irregular eating behaviors and ongoing victimization, researchers said these results should be a signal for more early identification and intervention efforts at schools.
"There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it, or that if they are continually prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it," said Nelson
So what do you think?
Do children think about their body weight as much as this study suggests? Are weight-related criticisms found more in groups of girls or boys? Can pre-adolescent taunting really affect children for the rest of their lives?
And what should be done to try and stop this happening in schools?
Are weight issues a problem generated by the media? e.g. super skinny people in magazines and on the tv.
Or are they now being generated by the Health Authority by chastising those who are overweight?
What's your opinion?
Link to Article
For the study, Nelson and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of public school students whose average age was 10.8 years. They collected participants' heights and weights and calculated their Body Mass Index, then examined the relationships between weight-related criticism and children's perceptions of themselves.
Their results showed that overweight pre-teens who endured weight-based criticism tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than students who weren't teased about their weight.
Because children who develop such negative views of their bodies are at higher risk for internalizing problems, developing irregular eating behaviors and ongoing victimization, researchers said these results should be a signal for more early identification and intervention efforts at schools.
"There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it, or that if they are continually prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it," said Nelson
So what do you think?
Do children think about their body weight as much as this study suggests? Are weight-related criticisms found more in groups of girls or boys? Can pre-adolescent taunting really affect children for the rest of their lives?
And what should be done to try and stop this happening in schools?
Are weight issues a problem generated by the media? e.g. super skinny people in magazines and on the tv.
Or are they now being generated by the Health Authority by chastising those who are overweight?
What's your opinion?
Link to Article
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Portion Control: is it all a matter of perception?
Research suggests that the key to losing weight could lie in manipulating our beliefs about how filling we think food will be before we eat it, suggesting that portion control is all a matter of perception.
Test subjects were more satisfied for longer periods of time after consuming varying quantities of food for which they were led to believe that portion sizes were larger than they actually were.
Memories about how satisfying previous meals were also played a causal role in determining how long those meals staved off hunger. Together, these results suggest that expectations before eating and memory after eating play an important role in governing appetite and satiety.
In the first experiment, participants were shown the ingredients of a fruit smoothie. Half were shown a small portion of fruit and half were shown a large portion. They were then asked to assess the 'expected satiety' of the smoothie and to provide ratings before and three hours after consumption. Participants who were shown the large portion of fruit reported significantly greater fullness, even though all participants consumed the same smaller quantity of fruit.
In a second experiment, researchers manipulated the 'actual' and 'perceived' amount of soup that people thought that they had consumed. Using a soup bowl connected to a hidden pump beneath the bowl, the amount of soup in the bowl was increased or decreased as participants ate, without their knowledge. Three hours after the meal, it was the perceived (remembered) amount of soup in the bowl and not the actual amount of soup consumed that predicted post-meal hunger and fullness ratings.
Dr. Brunstrom: "Labels on 'light' and 'diet' foods might lead us to think we will not be satisfied by such foods, possibly leading us to eat more afterwards - One way to militate against this, and indeed accentuate potential satiety effects, might be to emphasize the satiating properties of a food using labels such as 'satisfying' or 'hunger relieving'."
______________________________________________________________
So these diet foods could actually be causing us to eat more as we still think we should be hungry? Interesting!
This study really does highlight how that aspects of our lives that we never really considered anything more than biologically driven really can be altered by our psychological state of mind!
This is an interesting situation for advertisers. Do they want to avoid using 'diet' on their labels so people don't feel like they're missing out on food? Or keep using it because the 'diet' part is the reason people keep buying it?
I know I'll be paying more attention to the fine print now!
Link to Article
Test subjects were more satisfied for longer periods of time after consuming varying quantities of food for which they were led to believe that portion sizes were larger than they actually were.
Memories about how satisfying previous meals were also played a causal role in determining how long those meals staved off hunger. Together, these results suggest that expectations before eating and memory after eating play an important role in governing appetite and satiety.
In the first experiment, participants were shown the ingredients of a fruit smoothie. Half were shown a small portion of fruit and half were shown a large portion. They were then asked to assess the 'expected satiety' of the smoothie and to provide ratings before and three hours after consumption. Participants who were shown the large portion of fruit reported significantly greater fullness, even though all participants consumed the same smaller quantity of fruit.
In a second experiment, researchers manipulated the 'actual' and 'perceived' amount of soup that people thought that they had consumed. Using a soup bowl connected to a hidden pump beneath the bowl, the amount of soup in the bowl was increased or decreased as participants ate, without their knowledge. Three hours after the meal, it was the perceived (remembered) amount of soup in the bowl and not the actual amount of soup consumed that predicted post-meal hunger and fullness ratings.
Dr. Brunstrom: "Labels on 'light' and 'diet' foods might lead us to think we will not be satisfied by such foods, possibly leading us to eat more afterwards - One way to militate against this, and indeed accentuate potential satiety effects, might be to emphasize the satiating properties of a food using labels such as 'satisfying' or 'hunger relieving'."
______________________________________________________________
So these diet foods could actually be causing us to eat more as we still think we should be hungry? Interesting!
This study really does highlight how that aspects of our lives that we never really considered anything more than biologically driven really can be altered by our psychological state of mind!
This is an interesting situation for advertisers. Do they want to avoid using 'diet' on their labels so people don't feel like they're missing out on food? Or keep using it because the 'diet' part is the reason people keep buying it?
I know I'll be paying more attention to the fine print now!
Link to Article
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Link Between Everyday Stress and Obesity Strenthened
Stress can take a daily toll on us that has broad physical and psychological implications. Science has long documented the effect of extreme stress, such as war, injury or traumatic grief on humans. Typically, such situations cause victims to decrease their food intake and body weight. Recent studies, however, tend to suggest that social stress--public speaking, tests, job and relationship pressures--may have the opposite effect--over-eating and weight gain. With the rise of obesity rates, science has increasingly focused on its causes and effects--including stress.
A recent study conducted by the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, examined the effects of stress on the meal patterns and food intake of animals exposed to the equivalent of everyday stress on humans. The results suggest that, not only does stress have an impact on us in the short term, it can cause metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity.
Stress is experienced by animals and humans on a daily basis and many individuals experience cycles of stress and recovery throughout the day. If, following stress, we consume larger and less frequent meals, the conditions are favorable for weight gain--especially in the abdomen. We know that belly fat, as well as stress, contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction and other metabolic disorders. Further studies using the VBS model will help us understand the relationship between stress and obesity and help us treat and prevent the development of these diseases
(More information on this study can be found by clicking HERE)
__________________________________________
With obesity and body image in the media more and more in recent years, it seems now more than ever trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercise is important - especially if you've had that extra-stressful day at the office!
Possible methods to help you relax? Meditation, Tai Chi or a nice cup of tea!
A recent study conducted by the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, examined the effects of stress on the meal patterns and food intake of animals exposed to the equivalent of everyday stress on humans. The results suggest that, not only does stress have an impact on us in the short term, it can cause metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity.
Stress is experienced by animals and humans on a daily basis and many individuals experience cycles of stress and recovery throughout the day. If, following stress, we consume larger and less frequent meals, the conditions are favorable for weight gain--especially in the abdomen. We know that belly fat, as well as stress, contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction and other metabolic disorders. Further studies using the VBS model will help us understand the relationship between stress and obesity and help us treat and prevent the development of these diseases
(More information on this study can be found by clicking HERE)
__________________________________________
With obesity and body image in the media more and more in recent years, it seems now more than ever trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercise is important - especially if you've had that extra-stressful day at the office!
Possible methods to help you relax? Meditation, Tai Chi or a nice cup of tea!
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Drinking coffee doesn't make you more alert, caffeine study reveals
Coffee drinkers may think they're getting a caffeine boost, but they're no more alert than people who never drink the stuff.
The millions of people who depend on a shot of coffee to kickstart their day are no more alert than those who are not regular coffee drinkers, say researchers.
A cup of coffee, suggests a study, only counteracts the effects of caffeine withdrawal that has built up overnight.
"Someone who consumes caffeine regularly when they're at work but not at weekends runs the risk of feeling a bit rubbish by Sunday," said Peter Rogers, who led the research at Bristol University. "It's better to stick with it or keep off it altogether."
The research is significant because previous studies into the effects of caffeine have involved far fewer participants.
"It's an interesting piece of evidence, and a very ambitious study," said Lorenzo Stafford, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth. "Getting the DNA samples of so many participants is a huge effort."
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Half of the nation clinically obese by 2050 — what can be done?
The largest ever UK study into obesity, compiled by 250 experts, said excess weight as now the norm in our "obesogenic" society.
Those of SDS delegates who attended our "Food Abuse: from Addiction to Obesity" will notice that lots of the statements in the report are very much in line with our own conclusions on the day. For the first time there is an acknowledgement from both the specialists and the government that encouraging the individual to choose a healthier lifestyle, simply isn't enough. Obesity, the authors concluded, is an inevitable consequence of a society of cheap, readily available and energy-dense foods, motorised transport, labour-saving devices, and inactive lifestyles.
The report forecast for 2050 is pretty gloomy. If current trends continue:
- 60% of men, 50% of women, and 26% of children and young people will be obese
- Cases of type 2 diabetes will rise by 70%
- Cases of stroke will rise by 30%
- Cases of coronary heart disease will rise by 20%
Though it is very encouraging that the overall attitude towards the problem seems to start changing and the report recognises that the trivialising the issue by 'eat less exercise more' educational approach is not the strongest strategy, most questions remain open:
What can be done to change the tendency?
Is obesity the fault of the individual?
Should more support for obese people be provided by the NHS?
Should changes be made at home or would government action make a real difference?
Looking forward to your replies
Julia Budnik
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