Cover Image: March 2011 Scientific American Magazine See Inside

My, What a Big Salad You Have

When people see health food as larger, they are more likely to want to eat it














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Dieters are engaged in a constant battle between losing weight and eating tasty food. Now a study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests that buttering up the brain with images of health food may help people see these items as more tempting. Researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands prompted unsuccessful dieters with pictures of healthy foods, then found that, later, subjects viewed portions of these foods as bigger than they actually were. Previous research suggests that people are more likely to choose foods perceived as “bigger” at mealtimes. So if you’re trying to eat better, try flipping through the veggie chapter in a cookbook rather than sitting through the junk food ads on TV—seeing pictures of nutritious items could influence your choices.


This article was originally published with the title My, What a Big Salad You Have.



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  1. 1. leoluca criscione 03:16 PM 2/21/11

    This study belongs to the chapter: "Scientists feed the confusion".
    We, the 'experts' should stop confusing people!
    All waht we need is a REAL Education on 'how it works'.
    The book with the title : EATING HEALTHY AND DYING OBESE, explains why we can eat healthy and get fatty! The body, in fact, 'manages' only REAL pictures... e.g. what we eat!
    Healthy greetings from Switzerland
    Leoluca Criscione, Ph.D,
    co-author of the book mentioned

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  2. 2. sunnystrobe 05:21 AM 2/22/11

    A colourful salad whets our primeval appetites, and this is fully explainable : colour pigments , whether real or unreal,were and still are our vital nutrients, due to their antioxidant effect.
    Any advertising method cannot do without this colour trick; The symbolic red tomato slice and green lettuce leaf in a Big Mac camouflages the dead mincemeat inside, nothing else.
    We can easily retrain our colour sense to achieve more healthy nutritional lifestyle habits.
    See under www.youthevity

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
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