Det är ju nyttigt - då kan jag väl äta massor?

Studien "Perceived healthiness of food. If it's healthy, you can eat more!" har undersökt hur mycket kvinnliga studenter äter, beroende på om de trodde att ett mellanmål var nyttigt, respektive onyttigt. Studien visar att deltagarna åt cirka 35 % mer, när de trodde att mellanmålet (havrekakor med russin) var nyttigt. Ett intressant faktum som ofta visar sig - har man en ost med låg fetthalt så kanske man tar två skivor, man kanske använder ett tjockare lager lättmargarin än smör osv. I slutändan kan detta leda till att man får i sig mer energi än man hade fått av orginalprodukten. Fett är en smakbärare, vilket innebär att det räcker med mindre mängd för samma smakupplevelse.

Detta får dock även andra implikationer - produkter som marknadsförs stenhårt som väldigt nyttiga kan också uppfattas som sådana - även om de i själva verket inte är så bra!

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of food-related beliefs about the healthiness of foods, restrained eating, and weight salience on actual food intake during an ad libitum snack. In a 2 (healthy vs. unhealthy) by 2 (restrained vs. unrestrained eaters) by 2 (weight salient vs. not salient) factorial design, 99 female undergraduate students were invited to taste and rate oatmeal-raisin cookies. Dietary restraint and weight salience did not influence snack intake, but participants ate about 35% more when the snack was regarded as healthy than when it was seen as unhealthy. Ratings of the snack food's “healthiness,” “capacity to affect weight” and “appropriateness in a healthy menu” also indicated that the “healthy” manipulation was effective. In addition, the “weight salience” manipulation appears to influence perceptions about food differently in restrained versus unrestrained eaters, in that restrained eaters rated the snack food more negatively than unrestrained eaters did when they received weight feedback before eating. Beliefs about the healthiness of foods may thus be of great relevance to both food intake and weight gain.
Keywords: Food perceptions; Food intake; Restrained eating; Weight; Eating behavior