Buzz
You might joke about being on the 'see-food diet,' where you eat whatever you see, but there may actually be some truth to it. A study supports a straightforward tip that health professionals have long emphasized: your eating behaviors and the foods you consume are influenced by what you keep around you.
This wasn't exactly a game-changing 'lifehack,' but the study in question was quite intriguing. In a preliminary two-part research published in Health Education & Behavior, the researchers aimed to understand food-related behaviors at home and their connection to BMI. They began with an online survey, collecting data from 500 families regarding their kitchen environments, such as the foods on their countertops, as well as their height and weight. They specifically asked about the presence of items like cookies, candy, packaged foods like cereal, a fruit bowl, a toaster, or a blender. The second part of the study involved researchers visiting and observing around 300 homes in person.
The results were clear—families with healthier foods displayed on their countertops, like a bowl of fruit, had an average weight 13 pounds lower than those who didn’t. On the other hand, families who kept sugary items like cereal and soda in plain view had a higher weight than those who didn’t.
It's important to note that this study is just preliminary: the sample size was small, all from the same community, and the 500-family survey relied on self-reported data (including body weight and height). So while the study is intriguing, don’t take these findings as definitive—more research is needed. If only life were as simple as placing a bowl of fruit out and magically lowering your BMI!
The study simply supports the ongoing conversation about surrounding yourself with healthier food choices to improve your chances of dieting success. You don’t need to discard everything. The authors note:
The findings of this study don't suggest you should remove specific foods from your kitchen entirely, but rather that you should rearrange them to encourage healthier decisions, while still leaving room for occasional treats (though hidden away). The recommended actions, such as setting aside a cupboard for healthier snacks and swapping cookies for a fruit bowl, are simple to implement.
For a full guide on reorganizing your pantry, check out this article.
Image by garryknight.
