Looking To Lose Weight? Try Eating In Front Of The Mirror

Do you find yourself turning to unhealthy foods? No matter how hard you try to make clean food choices, you still find a way to indulge in a piece of chocolate cake. A new study has discovered a way for you to to ignore your cravings and stop eating junk food.

The study, published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, had 185 undergraduate students choose between a piece of chocolate cake and a fruit salad. Next, they evaluated the way it tasted while in a room with mirrors as well as in a room without mirrors.

The subjects who chose chocolate cake found it to be less tasty when eating it in the room that contained mirrors as opposed to the room without mirrors. The mirrors, or lack thereof, did not change the taste of the fruit salad.

 

Lead researcher,  Ata Jami of the University of Central Florida, says, ” a  glance in the mirror tells people more than just about their physical appearance. It enables them to view themselves objectively and helps them to judge themselves and their behaviours in a same way that they judge others.”

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He believes that mirrors can force people to compare and match their behaviours to the “social standards of correctness.” Basically, people don’t want to look in the mirror when they know their behaviour has fallen below acceptable standards because it increases their discomfort and sense of failure. In the case of this study, the mirrors created discomfort and reduced the perceived taste of the unhealthy food.

Jami suggests that placing mirrors in dining areas or restaurants can be an effective tool in prompting healthier eating habits. If you place mirrors in your kitchen, Jami believes you might be encouraged to grab a healthy snack instead of that bowl of ice cream, or those potato chips.

What do you think of these findings? Do you think a mirror can prompt you to make healthier choices, or do you think this could create an unhealthy relationship between you, your body and what you are eating?

Source: News.com.au

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