Can’t resist the urge to eat sweets? Researchers have just found a solution that appears to be effective! The result of their study shows that it is enough to watch immersive videos in which we can see other people consuming sweets to see our own gluttony decrease. Illustration image Pixabay
To conduct their study, scientists from NTU University (Singapore) subjected 317 volunteers aged 21 to 28 to immersive video playback via virtual reality headsets. This technology allows the participant to feel active and not just a passive observer. In return, they had the opportunity to nibble on the famous chocolate-covered peanuts that we all know.
Two groups were distinguished: The first group watched a video that suggested eating sweets 30 times with a total duration of 8 minutes. The second group was exposed to repeated viewing of a coin thrown into a washing machine. Result: People who repeatedly watched a video that featured a person eating candy consumed a third less candy than people who repeatedly watched a completely different video.
The researchers believe that repeatedly watching such videos causes the participant to imagine eating the candy themselves. This consumption, however fictitious, would therefore have the effect of producing a feeling of satiety and thus reducing the desire to consume more.
Illustration image Pixabay
In a second experiment, the researchers wanted to examine the influence of smell on the immersive experience. They therefore repeated the previous experiment, this time associating it with the smell of chocolate. The participants’ consumption of sweets was reduced by a further 11%. Therefore, smelling the scent of chocolate seems to have an addictive effect, just like watching people consume chocolate.
The results of this study could prove useful for people with compulsive eating behaviors. It remains to be seen whether similar results can be achieved with other types of smells and whether or not watching videos regularly would have a greater effect.