A nudge in a healthier direction: How environmental cues help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal.

A nudge in a healthier direction: How environmental cues help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal. Appetite. 2016 Nov 30;: Authors: Stämpfli AE, Stöckli S, Brunner TA Abstract Losing weight is a goal for many people, but it is hard to pursue. However, dieting cues in the environment hold promise for improving individuals' eating behavior. For example, exposure to thin, human-like sculptures by the artist Alberto Giacometti has been found to promote healthy snack choices at a vending machine. Whether health- or weight-related processes drive such effects has not yet been determined. However, a detailed understanding of the content-related drivers of environmental cues' effects provides the first indications regarding a cue's possible use. Therefore, two laboratory studies were conducted to examine the Giacometti sculptures' effects on unhealthy and healthy food intake (Study 1) and on the completion of weight- and health-related fragmented words (Study 2). Study 1 indicated that the sculptures are weight-related by showing that they reduced food intake independent of food healthiness. Furthermore, the "Giacometti effect" was moderated by restrained eating. Restrained eaters, who are known for their weight-control goal, ate less after having been exposed to the thin sculptures. The results of Study 2 pointed in the same direction. Restrained eaters completed more weight-related words after being exposed to the sculptur...
Source: Appetite - Category: Nutrition Authors: Tags: Appetite Source Type: research