Keep low-calorie foods close to choose them more often

Laziness can be a factor for bad food choices.  By putting healthy foods closer to you within reach, laziness can be used as an advantage for healthier eating. Privitera, a psychology researcher at Saint Bonaventure University, conducted a study with 56 men and women with an average age of 19 years old and in good health (20 healthy weight, 21 overweight, 15 obese). Participants were seated at a kitchen table with a bowl of apple slices and a bowl of popcorn, one within arms’ reach and the other twice as far away. The control group sat where the apples and popcorn were placed at the same distance away. Those who sat closer to the apples ate about 1.5 ounces of apple slices, those who sat closer to the popcorn ate 0.2 ounces of apple, and the control group ate 1 ounce of apple. People tend to grab what is most convenient even though it may not be a healthy option. Setting up a food environment with healthy food choices, such as fresh fruits on the counter in close reach, can reduce the amount of unhealthy foods we eat. What foods do you recommend your patients as a healthy snack?

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