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Picture this: Your awesome neighbor baked cookies and brought them over because she heard you were having a rough week. You decide to share the cookies with your roommates or family (aren’t you so sweet?)
Do you: (A) leave them on the counter to make them available or (B) tell everyone they can help themselves to the cookies in the fridge or cupboard? Or (C) Forget sharing, stand there and eat all the cookies!
In a study at The Ohio State University researchers monitored food storage and eating habits of obese individuals (having an average BMI of 36) compared to non-obese people. A few of the most interesting differences were, the obese population:
1. Had more food visible in the house, especially sweets
2. Kept food distributed in other locations outside of the kitchen
3. Ate more fast food and other convenient food options
I was especially surprised to learn that the amount of food in the house was similar, but the arrangement of food was different. The study goes on to discuss how obesity affects self-esteem. This is significant because adults with low self-esteem have less initiative to make behavior changes at home. The article also looks into what came first, the weight or the food accessibility. Very interesting! Click here: http://bit.ly/1HQXG4z to read more.
Food for thought:
Have you ever found yourself standing in the kitchen eating the plate of cookies? Yea, me too. Not great for our waistlines, but sure tastes good going down.
Time to take an inventory of the food storage and see if there’s a simple change – such as keeping cereal in a cupboard instead of on top of the fridge. This way it’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind solution to the mindless munchies that sneak up around 9pm each night! |
