A study carried out by UGR scientists shows that obesity and food restrictions –even trivial ones– such as temporary diets are associated with a reduction in enjoyment
For this research, food‑related emotions were analyzed in 552 adolescents aged 11 to 17 belonging to several high schools from Granada
Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) belonging to the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC, from its name in Spanish) and the Faculty of Business and Economics have proven that adolescents who suffer from obesity feel less food enjoyment than those who have a normal weight. In addition, their work reveals that even trivial restrictions on food intake (that is, temporary diets) are associated with a reduction in pleasure.
For this work, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, a large sample of 552 adolescents between 11 and 17 years old from several high schools in Granada has had their emotional reactions analyzed during the visualization of images of sweet foods.
Thus, the researchers observed that those adolescents who reported different types of dietary restrictions (different types of diet, dieting very often, skipping breakfast, eating less frequently, etc.), along with those who were obese and those who had unhealthy behaviors unrelated to food (such as smoking or having insufficient sleep), felt less pleasure, attraction and desire to eat the highly palatable foods they were looking at (images of sweets, donuts, ice‑creams, chocolate crêpes, etc.).
As explained by Laura Miccoli, main author of this study, «adolescence, typically associated with greater body dissatisfaction, is a key stage for the development of risky eating behaviors, related both to uncontrolled restrictions on food intake –which may lead to to the development of eating disorders– and with the stabilization of overweight and obesity.» Hence the importance of studies that approach both food‑related disorders from an integrative perspective.
A pioneering study
Not in vain, the research led by the UGR is the first study that has examined the adolescents’ emotions toward sweet food cues based on a constellation of risk behaviors, related to both obesity and eating disorders.
In the light of the results obtained, the UGR scientists point out that those adolescents who feel more pleasure or enjoyment when eating «have a healthy relationship with food, and this pleasure may be a possible protective factor against eating and weight‑related disorders.»
Therefore, «consistent with recent prevention strategies, it is important to change the perspective on the enjoyment of food with respect to the prevention of obesity, banishing the idea that we should avoid the pleasure of eating. On the contrary: we should take advantage of it, and make food enjoyment –the ‘slow food movement’– a tool for healthy eating,» Miccoli points out.
Bibliographic reference:
Miccoli, Laura, Martínez‑Fiestas, Myriam, Delgado‑Rodríguez, Rafael, Díaz‑Ferrer, Sandra, Rodríguez‑Ruiz, Sonia, & Fernández‑Santaella, M. Carmen (2018). Adolescent emotions toward sweet food cues as a function of obesity and risky dieting practices. Food Quality and Preference, 68, 205‑214.
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.03.006
Images:
Some of the UGR researchers that carried out this study. From left to right: Laura Miccoli (CIMCYC), M. Carmen Fernández‑Santaella (CIMCYC, PI of the project) and Myriam Martínez‑Fiestas (Faculty of Business and Economics)
The researchers showed the participants images of highly palatable foods (sweets, donuts, ice‑creams, chocolate crêpes, etc.)
Contact info:
Laura Miccoli
Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada
Phone number: (+34) 958 249 543
E‑mail: lauramiccoli@ugr.es
