Irrational Food Choices Observed By Researchers
Written by Jamie Stowe | Monday, 26 October 2009 | There is 1 comment
exhaustion of self control
It sounds a little bit crazy but a new study has shown that when men and women who are trying to lose weight are presented with healthy food options they often rebel psychologically and end up choosing unhealthy high fat and high calorie options. This phenomenon is interesting because when the researchers presented similar menus which did not have low calorie salads on them the participants tended to go for the healthiest option available.
The research which was done at City University of New York by Keith Wilcox shows that often our food choices are irrational and are measured against what else is available. Mr. Wilcox reckons that the reason why people go for the unhealthy option when presented with salads could be linked to something which he described as "exhaustion of self control".
It appears that when a salad is presented on a menu to somebody trying to lose weight and they make the decision not to have it because they would rather have something tastier, they lose their self control completely and end up going for the fattiest option, whereas when presented with a number of different food items which don't contain very healthy salads they are able to exercise a little bit of self control and go for the slightly healthier food item.
The point that Mr. Wilcox made which we fully agree with at Ukmedix News is that being aware of this psychological phenomenon could actually help people trying to lose weight to fully understand their food ordering patterns and maybe help them to make better choices.
You have to be reasonable and practical when it comes to choosing food. If you hate bland salads full of celery and lettuce you shouldn't order them at restaurants. What you should try and do is steer towards the middle ground and for example order a grilled chicken wrap as opposed to pigging out on the full fat cheeseburger.
After all, eating should be an enjoyable experience and if your eating plan is dull and never lets you eat what you want you will eventually fall off the bandwagon and probably go on an eating binge.
