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Portion control has long been linked to healthy weight management and
new research suggests that adopting a "health-focused mindset" at
mealtimes, in other words, taking a moment to think about the
nutritional value of a meal while selecting your portion, might make you
eat less.
It may sound obvious, but how many of us are guilty of
making a lunch choice on autopilot? Let this be a reminder to eat
mindfully...
Researchers at the University of Tübingen, Germany,
presented their latest research on brain responses to food at the annual
meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior this month,
an international conference where experts share their ideas on eating.
In
their most recent study the researchers asked participants who ranged
from normal weight to obese to think about either the health effects of
food, expected pleasure, or their intention to stay full until dinner
time while choosing their portion size for lunch. Some respondents were
also asked to select their portion size without any instruction under a
control condition. The scientists observed their brain responses using
scans.
The results of the study suggested that participants across all
weight categories picked smaller portions when asked to adopt the first
mindset (of the health effects of food). Scans showed that this approach
"can trigger activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to
self-control and future meal planning."
They also found that when
respondents were concerned with fullness they opted for bigger portions,
and when thinking about pleasure the obese participants chose larger
portions than those of a normal weight.
Brain scans suggested
that this mindset corresponded to "a heightened response in a
taste-processing region of the brain," while of those respondents
concerned with fullness, the obese participants "showed blunted brain
responses in regions for reward and physiological regulation."
Lead
author Stephanie Kullmann said: "This influence of pre-meal mindset on
food choices may contribute to the vicious cycle we observe in obesity."
"Focusing
on food for pleasure leads to bigger servings and increased brain
responses to food reward, whilst the sensation of fullness is perceived
as less satisfying."
The findings of the study suggest that
reminding yourself to take a moment to think about the nutritional value
of your next meal could help people of any weight to cut calories at
mealtimes. The researchers also concluded that advertising healthy food
options as "tasty" could be counterproductive "because this has the
potential to induce a pleasure mindset, which leads to the selection of
larger serving sizes in individuals who are struggling with their
weight."
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