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Can't resist junk food? Study suggests you try this simple trick
In the study, researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) examined the effects that exposure to ambient scents had on people’s food choices.
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You can be one step closer to your New Year’s resolution with this simple trick that can cut your urge to indulge in your junk foods. (Shutterstock/File)
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ou can be one step closer to your New Year’s resolution with this simple trick that can cut your urge to indulge in your not-so-healthy favorite foods.
New research from the Journal of Marketing Research says that a long, two-minute sniff of junk food can be a way to resist the lure of actually eating it -- and lead you to make healthier food choices.
In the study, researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) examined the effects that exposure to ambient scents had on people’s food choices.
Study participants were exposed to the smells of “indulgent” foods (cookies and pizza) and “non-indulgent” foods (strawberries and apples) in a school, supermarket and laboratory.
When participants were exposed to the smell of “indulgent” foods for longer than two minutes, they were more likely to opt for the healthier options, time and time again. The desire for participants to actually consume food like pizza and cookies slumped after smelling the “indulgent” scents for just two minutes.
Read also: A guide to eating healthy in a fast food restaurant
However, 45 percent of those who were exposed to the scent of cookies for just 30 seconds said that they would choose the treat over strawberries. After two minutes of exposure to the scent, just 22 percent of participants opted for the indulgent choice.
When the exposure to non-indulgent ambient scents (strawberry and apple) were examined, food choices were not profoundly influenced. The reason for this is because these “non-indulgent” foods are not connected with reward in our brain and therefore have little influence on what we crave.
Researchers from the USF concluded that “encountering a cue in one sensory modality (olfaction) can compensate (or satisfy) desires related to another sensory modality (gustatory)”.
To put it simply, if you smell something unhealthy for long enough, like pizza or cookies, your desire to indulge in it is satisfied. (geo/kes)
