How to trick your brain into wanting healthier foods

The skinny trick

How would you like to lose weight without eating bland diet food?

Playing with the portions of good and not-so-good-for-you foods is better than trying to eliminate so-called bad foods, according to a study.

Variety may trump virtue when it comes to the struggle to eat healthily, says a Vanderbilt marketing professor who studies consumer self-control and endorses "vice-virtue bundles" combining nutritious and not-so-nutritious foods.

A little vice and a whole lot of virtue

"We suggest a simple solution that can help consumers, who would otherwise choose vice over virtue, to simultaneously increase consumption of healthy foods (virtues) and decrease consumption of unhealthy foods (vices) while still fulfilling taste goals - 'vice-virtue bundles'," said Kelly L. Haws, associate professor of management at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management.

The idea is not to give up entirely foods that provide pleasure but aren't nutritious. Instead, the focus should be on lowering the portion of the "vice" foods and correspondingly raising the portion of a healthy food to replace it.

The proof is in the pudding

Struggling to dismiss this theory and stick to your all-or-nothing diet approach? Before you do, take a moment to consider the proof…

In a series of experiments, Haws and her colleagues found that people have a "taste-health balance point" - a proportion of vice and virtuous foods that make up one serving - which they find satisfactory.

For most, the perfect vice-virtue bundle is made up of a small (1/4) to medium (1/2) portion of vice. So if a vice-virtue bundle was made up of fries and slices of apple, it might take a small or very small serving of fries to satiate the need for the vice food.

Good news for moms and dieters

Vice-virtue bundles could also be a healthy answer for dieters and moms who are actively seeking to make healthy meals that would seem more appealing to themselves and their children.

If you want to read the full report, you can find it online at: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/documents/mktg_05_14_Haws.pdf

Recommended reading: Are you eating supper too early?

1. Prev:Cut calories â€“ make veggies the star attraction
2. Next:Shrink your tummy: 30-Day abs challenge