Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
Health

How Eating 'Healthy' Food Can Make You Fat!

Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Dec, 2015 12:10 PM
    Eating too much is typically considered as one of the prime reasons for obesity but when people eat what they consider to be healthy food, they eat more than the recommended serving size because they associate "healthy" with less filling, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin.
     
    The findings suggest that the recent increase of healthy food labels may be ironically contributing to the obesity epidemic rather than reducing it.
     
    Raj Raghunathan from University of Texas at Austin, and colleagues utilised a multi-method approach to investigate the "healthy equal to less filling" intuition.
     
    The first study was conducted with 50 undergraduate students at a large public university and employed the well-established Implicit Association Test to provide evidence for an inverse relationship between the concepts of healthy and filling.
     
    The second study was a field study conducted with 40 graduate students and measured participants' hunger levels after consuming a cookie that is either portrayed as healthy or unhealthy to test the effect of health portrayals on experienced hunger levels.
     
    The third study was conducted with 72 undergraduate students in a realistic scenario to measure the impact of health portrayals on the amount of food ordered before watching a short film and the actual amount of food consumed during the film.
     
    The set of three studies converges on the idea that consumers hold an implicit belief that healthy foods are less filling than unhealthy foods.
     
    The researchers demonstrated that portraying a food as healthy as opposed to unhealthy using a front-of-package nutritional scale impacts consumer judgment and behaviour.
     
    Surprisingly, even consumers who said they disagree with the idea that healthy foods are less filling than unhealthy foods are subject to the same biases.
     
    The study was published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Few Pregnancy Deaths But Maternal Health Challenges Remain: Report

    The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics is releasing a report on Tuesday at its triennial congress saying "more work needs to be done."

    Few Pregnancy Deaths But Maternal Health Challenges Remain: Report

    India, Germany To Cement Ties During Modi-Merkel Meet

    Merkel, who arrives here on Sunday night, is on an India visit October 4-6. She will be accompanied by a large delegation comprising cabinet ministers, and businesspersons, and will also be visiting Bengaluru.

    India, Germany To Cement Ties During Modi-Merkel Meet

    Brain Freeze: Can Putting Faith In Cryonics Deliver Life After Death?

    Brain Freeze: Can Putting Faith In Cryonics Deliver Life After Death?
    When it comes to death, there's traditionally been two forms of eternal rest: going into a coffin or ending up as ashes inside an urn.

    Brain Freeze: Can Putting Faith In Cryonics Deliver Life After Death?

    Indo-Canadian Researcher Shows Diabetes Risk For Indians And Other South Asians Begins At Birth

    Indo-Canadian Researcher Shows Diabetes Risk For Indians And Other South Asians Begins At Birth
    For Indians and other South Asians, the risks of developing Type-2 diabetes begin immediately at birth, warns a study by Indian-origin researchers.

    Indo-Canadian Researcher Shows Diabetes Risk For Indians And Other South Asians Begins At Birth

    Guidelines Aimed At Preventing Falls, Fractures In Long-Term Care Residents

    Guidelines Aimed At Preventing Falls, Fractures In Long-Term Care Residents
    If there's one thing Devora Greenspon wants to avoid, it's taking a tumble that could fracture one of her brittle bones, especially a hip.

    Guidelines Aimed At Preventing Falls, Fractures In Long-Term Care Residents

    Junk Food May Shrink Your Brain: Study

    Junk Food May Shrink Your Brain: Study
    Although the study was conducted in adults over 60 years of age, the researchers believe that the findings are relevant for people of all ages, including children.

    Junk Food May Shrink Your Brain: Study