Participants, who ate lunch one hour before the study’s trial, could receive tokens to acquire foods typically available at fast-food restaurants, such as cheeseburgers, French fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks. Tokens could also buy time for an alternate activity, such as playing video games on a tablet. Both the food and game choices appeared on large TV screens.
The study questions focused on wanting, liking, and hunger. Wanting is a strong motivation, while liking involves pleasure.
When exposed to food-related cues, participants felt hungrier in the fast-food lab than in the neutral environment. The cues, however, did not make a difference in whether the participants liked the taste of the food in either environment.
People consumed 220 more calories in fast-food environments that have food-related cues than those who ate in non-cue locations, the study results indicate. Joyner says food cues did not impact wanting or liking for games, suggesting the effect is specific to food.
Joyner and colleagues say it’s important for people to arm themselves with knowledge about how food cues can trick them into thinking they are hungry and increase their desire for food.
“It is hard it is to avoid food cues in our current environment, but people can try some strategies to minimize their exposure by not going into restaurants and using technology to skip food advertisements in TV shows,” Joyner said.
The study appeared in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.
