Episode 161. Good Mood, Healthy Food

Grapes or M&Ms?

• A 2010 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research looked at three studies showing that healthy choices are more likely when in a good mood, but temptation is greater when mood is negatively affected.
• People tend to choose the healthier choice when in a good mood.
• If a stimulus negatively affects positive mood, the unhealthy choice is more likely.
• Test subjects were given a snack choice of grapes or M&Ms.
• Better mood led to greater resistance to the M&Ms.

Real world examples

• People constantly bring sweets to work and encourage you to try them. You resist at work, but their teasing negatively affects your mood, and you choose an unhealthy snack later in the day.
• Your diet alone adds stress, making healthy choices tougher.
• In recent years, dislikes and hating on social media’s has been a source of negativity.

Stressful eating?

• Devices like FitBit, and strict exclusionary diets like keto, add stress which makes resisting temptation more difficult.
• By comparison, lifestyle eating plans like The Cycle Diet, reduce stress and make healthy choices more likely.

[Reference]

Fedorikhin A and Patrick VM, “Positive Mood and Resistance to Temptation: The Interfering Influence of Elevated Arousal”. Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 37, No. 4 (December 2010), pp. 698-711