Are you trying to lose weight? Scientists have discovered a simple trick that can make healthy food attractive

But the researchers believe they’ve uncovered a simple trick that could enable you to avoid snacking on unhealthy foods—cook healthy foods so they’re instantly edible.

For example, peel a banana to have in your fridge when you get home. Or chop a few peppers and toss some nuts into a bowl. Scientists from the University of Aberdeen said this is because people find food more appetizing if it requires no effort at all.

Dozens of studies have shown that people prefer to choose higher calorie foods over low calorie options. But according to the scientists, no studies have looked at how readiness to eat affects food cravings.

For the experiment, more than 200 volunteers aged 16 to 66 years were recruited, who were shown images of products at different stages of readiness and asked how much they want them on a scale from zero to 100. The photos were shown in pairs in three categories – raw (whole), sliced ​​and packaged (unpackaged).

For example, raw beef has been compared to cooked steak, while whole peppers have been compared to sliced ​​ones. The results, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, showed that participants found food 15% more appetizing if it could be eaten right away, rather than cooked, cleaned, or even just taken out of the bag. This applies to all food groups across the board – for example, a sliced ​​banana was found to be more appealing than one that had to be peeled.

The results show that the raw food diet scored about 27 out of 100, while the cooked food scored 38.

Meanwhile, packaged foods (34 points) scored lower than unpackaged foods (36 points).

Chopped foods (about 32) were found to be more appetizing than foods that had to be cut (about 30).

And participants who reported being hungry before seeing the pictures were even more likely to choose food that was ready to eat rather than food that needed to be cooked.

Dr. Helen Knight, a psychologist and one of the study’s authors, said it’s “really important” to know how willingness to eat affects food cravings: “If you’re starting this year trying to eat healthier, be sure to cook healthy meals to encourage healthy choices.” , and avoid shopping when you’re hungry. This can make you crave more ready-to-eat snacks, which are usually not as healthy as homemade food.”

Lead author Dr. Hesse said: “There are many studies that have shown that high-calorie foods are associated with increased food cravings. An interesting thing we found is that cravings for fast foods are much higher compared to foods that had to be cooked, chopped, peeled, or even unwrapped. But high-calorie foods are often sold ready-made – just think about advertising burgers or pizza. low-calorie meals are often served unprepared, such as raw salmon or broccoli, which require effort and extra preparation to consume.”

Christina Denisyuk.

Photo by Natalia Bakhareva.