Food for Thought

Can thinking about food make you thinner? Scientists from Carnegie Mellon University on Pittsburgh believe so. They conducted a series of experiments in which subjects were asked to imagine eating food. Afterwards they were offered real food. Those who had spent longer thinking about eating were found to eat a lot less than those who had not thought about food.

The experiment, which was published in Science magazine, involved people imagining themselves eating M&Ms or pieces of cheese or another repetitive activity such as inserting coins into washing machines. After imagining around 30 repetitions they were offered a bowl of sweets. Those who imagined eating sweets were found to eat half as many sweets than those in other groups.

This showed that the effect is food specific. If the subjects were told to imagine eating cheese, they would still eat the normal amount of sweets. If they were offered cheese cubes, they would eat less of them.

To find out more:

Original paper: Thought for Food: Imagined Consumption Reduces Actual Consumption (2010) Science.

Articles: Think Yourself Thinner with the Fantasy Diet, Daily Telegraph

  Can Food Thoughts Make You Thin? NHS