Nutrition - AllPsych

Looking at the Evidence for Health Warnings on Food and Alcohol

Neil Petersen — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 22:51:48 +0000

Scientists can show that some behavior has negative health consequences, but the question then becomes how to convince the public to actually engage in that behavior less. We know, for example, that consuming too much unhealthy food and alcohol causes health problems, but that knowledge itself hasn’t put an end to health conditions caused by…

The post Looking at the Evidence for Health Warnings on Food and Alcohol first appeared on AllPsych.

The post Looking at the Evidence for Health Warnings on Food and Alcohol appeared first on AllPsych.

The Dietary Habits of Optimists

Neil Petersen — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 23:55:28 +0000

It’s solidly established that there appears to be a link between optimism and physical health. This can be seen, for example, from the fact that people with higher levels of optimism tend to encounter fewer health problems as they age. Multiple explanations have been put forward for why seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses might…

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Hungry Kids Don’t Like to Share

Neil Petersen — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 23:43:48 +0000

It’s hard to be concerned with lofty philosophical principles when you’re hungry. A new study from researchers at University of Chicago underscores this point in the context of an ethical dilemma that children face every day: whether to share. Of course, children aren’t the only ones who need to remember to share, but this particular…

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School Cafeteria Setup Can Promote Healthy Eating Habits

Neil Petersen — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 00:22:53 +0000

The idea of “nudges” often comes up in research on the psychology of dietary choices. The theory being that certain cues can “nudge” people toward healthier eating habits. I wrote about this topic a few months ago in relation to a study suggesting that using certain types of plates might encourage children to eat more…

The post School Cafeteria Setup Can Promote Healthy Eating Habits first appeared on AllPsych.

The post School Cafeteria Setup Can Promote Healthy Eating Habits appeared first on AllPsych.

The Psychological Separation Between “Meat” and “Animals”

Neil Petersen — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 02:15:54 +0000

People like animals. People also like to eat animals. This presents an obvious problem. It’s challenging to make a convincing case to yourself that you think animals are cute and want to protect their welfare in between swallowing mouthfuls of pork. You might recognize this as a classic example of cognitive dissonance, where people have…

The post The Psychological Separation Between “Meat” and “Animals” first appeared on AllPsych.

The post The Psychological Separation Between “Meat” and “Animals” appeared first on AllPsych.

Breakfast Habits and School Performance

Neil Petersen — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 02:19:53 +0000

“Dear diary, today I had cereal and orange juice for breakfast.” That kind of diary entry might make for fairly boring reading, but it’s exactly what the authors of a recent study on nutrition habits and school performance were interested in. In the study, 294 British teenagers kept food diaries for a week, reporting the…

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Testing Berry Smoothies as a Brain Superfood

Neil Petersen — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 22:51:18 +0000

Berries commonly star on lists of “brain-boosting” foods. As I’ve talked about before, there’s some evidence for the idea that berries can enhance cognitive functioning, although it’s not an open-and-shut case. The latest study to examine the relationship between berries and brain functioning comes in liquid form – specifically, in the form of a 400…

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Americans’ Unhealthy Ideas About What Breakfast “Should” Be

Neil Petersen — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 07:40:11 +0000

This week’s theme on the AllPsych Blog appears to be food, and the psychology of healthy eating. In my last post, I talked about how the right plates could act as a “nudge” to encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables. And fitting with the theme, today’s topic is breakfast, and American-style breakfast in…

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Choice of Plate Can Help Children Eat Their Vegetables

Neil Petersen — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 23:24:15 +0000

For centuries, parents have been trying to cajole their children into eating broccoli. Now scientists are here to help. Techniques for convincing children to up their fruit and vegetable consumption are sometimes called “nudges.” Researchers have been investigating these techniques in recent years and found that, in general, nudges do have the ability to influence…

The post Choice of Plate Can Help Children Eat Their Vegetables first appeared on AllPsych.

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When Does Comfort Food Really Comfort?

Neil Petersen — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 23:29:02 +0000

Of the different ways we might deal with negative emotions, eating isn’t necessarily the healthiest. Sure, we might want to reach for a candy bar when we’re feeling down, but eating too many candy bars can bring its own problems! Still, that doesn’t answer the question: does cheering ourselves up with food actually work? Or,…

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