Diet

The psychology of food cravings

Swimsuit season is almost upon us. For most of us, the countdown has begun to lazy days lounging by the pool and relaxing on the beach. However, for some of us, the focus is not so much on sunglasses and beach balls, but how to quickly shed those final five or ten pounds in order to look good poolside. It is no secret that dieting can be challenging and food cravings can make it even more difficult. Why do we get intense desires to eat certain foods? Although food cravings are a common experience, researchers have only recently begun studying how food cravings emerge. Psychological scientists Eva Kemps and Marika Tiggemann of Flinders University, Australia, review the latest research on food cravings and how they may be controlled in the current issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. [continue reading…]

Fast food makes people impatient

burgerFast food is not only bad for your body but may also harm your bank account.

Eating habits have shifted dramatically over the last few decades — fast food has become a multibillion dollar industry that has widespread influence on what and how we eat. The original idea behind fast food is to increase efficiency, allowing people to quickly finish a meal so they can move on to other matters. [continue reading…]

Overweight seniors live longer

Image: iStockphoto

Image: iStockphoto

OK so your New Years resolution to lose weight has floundered and you’re not feeling too pleased with yourself. Well it could be timely to review the body mass index (BMI) classification for older adults as new research suggests that older overweight people are less likely to die over a 10 year period than their normal weight peers. [continue reading…]