It's hard to imagine a person who has never in his life succumbed to the temptation to try junk food. Pizza, french fries and burgers, sweets and other members of this food group often look so appetizing that it is very difficult to resist them. And given the availability and inexpensive cost of such products, in most cases they become the product of choice when you really want to eat. But has it ever happened to you that during a strict diet, or, conversely, when the body has recently been satiated, advertising on the Internet or on the street just like a magnet urgently pulls you to go to the nearest fast food. Why do we love junk food so much? Estet-portal.com knows the answer to this question.
The temptation of junk food: why is it so hard to resist?
Italian psychologists from the International School for Advanced Research conducted an interesting experiment, the results of which are simply amazing.
Researchers led by psychologist Francesco Foroni have clearly demonstrated that the image of tasty but unhealthy food literally makes our brain want this particular food right here and now.
The Internet is replete with photographs of famous people "caught" with a burger or pizza slice in hand. We all know how much such food harms our body. But resisting temptation is a very difficult task.
Junk food:
- Italian scientists conducted an experiment with junk food;
- why does our body want to get a harmful product so much;
- how to resist junk food: simple advice.
Italian scientists conducted an experiment with junk food
Italian researchers conducted the following experiment: they invited 57 young people who had a normal body weight and had a meal before the start of the study. Each of them was given a tablet in their hands and asked to complete the following task: it was necessary to quickly connect two points on the screen located at a distance of 13 cm from each other. In addition to the dots, a distracting image with three options for images also appeared on the screen:
- healthy but tasty food, such as fruit or berries;
- junk food: pizza, fast food, ice cream;
- kitchen utensils: forks, knives, cups, etc.
Participants were asked to rate the displayed products on a scale of one to ten, depending on how much they liked them. They were also asked to indicate whether they are currently on a diet and how hungry they felt after the experiment.
Why does our body so want to get a harmful product
After the study, the scientists analyzed the line with which the young people tried to connect the dots. They found that as soon as the image of food appeared on the screen – the movement of their fingers changed, and the line turned out to be curved, as the brain led the hand in the direction of food. Analyzing the results, the scientists found that regardless of whether the subjects were on a diet and how much they wanted to eat, the image of food is "confusing"; the brain and makes it want to urgently taste the food shown in the picture. Moreover, it was the images of junk food that most affected the trajectory of the line connecting the dots, making it curved and deformed.
How to resist junk food: a simple tip
Francesco Foroni proved the correctness of the statement "forbidden fruit – sweet". As it turns out, the more negative you feel about certain foods, the more your brain craves to get the taboo. This may be the reason why most diets fail. None of the 57 subjects coped with the task. Despite the fact that young people were full, the image of junk food made the brain concentrate on it.
Psychologists have proven that the very wording "junk food" makes this particular product so desirable.
If you want to get your body in order and get rid of excess weight or just keep yourself in good shape – try not to label certain products. The less forbidden food seems to you, the easier it will be for you to prefer healthy and no less tasty food to it.
Add a comment