Losing weight or maintaining weight is every person's goal. Fortunately, there are various ways that can help you achieve your ideal weight. Some people may say exercise is the key to keeping fit and healthy and for some they would say a combination of healthy food and exercise will do the trick.
As per Live Science, a study suggested that if a person wants to maintain their normal weight, then it is recommended that they leave out a bowl of fruit in the kitchen.
In the study, it shows that people who left fruits on their kitchen countertop weighed approximately 6 kilograms less than those people who don't have healthy food option within their reach.
Don't get too excited just yet, before hoarding the supermarket with all the different kinds of fruits, make sure to put away the cereal. Participants who have cereal boxes in plain sight can weigh an approximately 9 kilograms more than participants who don't. Participants who left soda cans out are even worse since they weighed approximately 11 kilograms more than people who don't have drinks in their counter top.
Brian Wansink, a food psychologist and director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and the lead author in the study said that there is a big connection between the kinds of the food sitting in plain sight and how much they weighed. He added that in the study and other recent research support the fact that eating fruits and vegetables is healthy and junk food is not. However, in the new study it shows how the eating environment can affect the eating habit of a person in a very surprising way.
To complete the study, Wansink and his team conducted an online survey for almost 500 women in the United States. They focused on women were mothers of two because they believe that they are most likely to gain more weight. They were asked to take a look around their kitchen counters and list down any food or thing on their counters. Then they were asked their current weight and height and if applicable the height and weight of their spouses as well. Out of all the things listed, only the fruit bowl was connected to lower BMI.
Interestingly enough, food like cookies or other baked goods were not closely related to high BMI for women but they do for men. The 'health halo" as researchers would call it are for food that are usually said to be healthy but actually packed with loads of sugar and other ingredients that add to weight gain if not consumed moderately, like cereals. The study suggests that keeping these food can help avoid the urge to consume them.
Wansink added that keeping junk food isn't going to solve the weight-related problem. It starts with having healthy food choices and leaving the junk food behind.
