News: Does chocolate taste better when you’re on a diet?
Updated: Dec. 06, 2012
Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to avoid unhealthy foods? If so, you may be more likely
Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to avoid unhealthy foods?
If so, you may be more likely to eat’and enjoy’them.
Why?
According to a new study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, forbidden foods are more enticing.
‘The authors demonstrate that the activation of guilt, a negative emotion, enhances the pleasure experienced from hedonic consumption,’ the study’s abstract says.
To determine the effect of guilt on study participants, they were randomly separated into two groups, reports Today.com. One group was given health magazines to read, while the other was given reading unrelated to health. Afterwards, they were all given chocolate and asked to evaluate their levels of enjoyment.
Turns out, those who read health magazines enjoyed the chocolate more because their guilt over eating an unhealthy snack enhanced their sense of pleasure.
According to Time.com, this was just one part of the six-series study, which, according to the study’s abstract, shows that ‘activating guilt can automatically activate cognitions related to pleasure.’
What do you think? Does chocolate taste better when you’re on a diet? Are you more likely to enjoy eating something forbidden?
-Katharine Watts, Associate Web Editor
Related:
‘ 8 healthy ways to get your chocolate fix
‘ 7 reasons why chocolate is healthy
‘ 15 guilt-free snack ideas
