The findings dovetail with work published last year by Brian Wansink - a leading expert in the field - showing that placing healthier dishes at the front of a buffet line results in people taking more servings of those foods than fattier ones placed further away. “They’ll probably go for it, simply because it’s an easier option.” “In terms of your kids wanting snacks, make healthier food freely available,” said Privitera, a father of two. So what does it all mean? In simplest terms, that we can make sloth work in our favour. And these proximity effects occurred regardless of a participant’s body mass index. In fact, the worst scenario was when both bowls were within reach, as it saw participants eat the most food of any of the three experimental designs. The worst scenario was when both bowls were within reach That is, when the popcorn was closest, significantly more popcorn was consumed, and when apples were closest, significantly more apples were consumed. Ultimately, it was proximity and not preference that shaped behaviour. And for a third group, both snacks were placed within reach.Īlthough the majority of people sampled both the fruit and the popcorn - the latter of which was the favourite snack of the two, according to follow-up surveys - a striking pattern emerged in terms of how much was consumed. For others, the bowls’ positions were reversed. They were also casually invited to help themselves to the provided snacks, which included a bowl of apple slices and a bowl of movie theatre-style popcorn.įor some participants, the high-fat popcorn was placed within arm’s reach while the apples required walking to a counter two metres away. In the study, co-authored by Faris Zuraikat, men and women of all body types - none of whom had recently eaten - were asked to sit solo at a table while awaiting the researchers’ arrival. “Even when there’s another preferred food in the environment, people will still take whatever is easiest to get to.” “It says that has an advantage for health,” said Gregory Privitera, an associate professor of psychology. More importantly, this effect holds true even when the dubious snack at a distance is preferred over the lower calorie, within-reach dish. Bonaventure University in New York report that couch-potato tendencies can lead to better choices, provided the food that’s closest is a healthier option than the food requiring effort to obtain. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |