Keeping Sweets Around Builds Willpower?
There are times when studies get over-interpreted. I think this is one of those times.
With food, temptation may be a good thing
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – While dieters often banish tempting foods from their kitchens, a new study suggests that keeping some sweet treats around might be a good way to build willpower.
In three tests that presented female college students with tempting foods, researchers found that the women exerted greater self-control when they had previously been confronted with a sweet treat they had access to — rather than just pictures or smells.
The implication, say the researchers, is that challenging yourself to resist temptation may be more effective than banning all sweets and snack foods from the house.
“The main message is that banishing food temptations may not be the best way to limit the amount eaten. Tempting foods can actually increase willpower,” explained lead author Kelly Geyskens, an assistant professor of marketing at the Lessius Hogeschool in Antwerpen, Belgium.
It may seem counterintuitive to keep a food “threat” around, and dieters are often advised to keep junk food out of the house, noted Geyskens. But, she told Reuters Health, the idea is that tempting foods help trigger a person’s “self-control strategies.”
LOL, sorry Doc, but I know quite a few people who understand that keeping food “threats” around virtually guarantees that they’ll be eaten. The reason “dieters are often advised to keep junk food out of the house” is because it helps. Keeping junk out of the house is – in and of itself – part of the process of developing self-control.
One obvious thing that’s missing from this report is an awareness that there’s a difference between a short term, highly artificial experiment, and real life. Lots of people can resist temptation in the short term. Having it present 24/7 is often another matter.
The reality is that food temptations can never be “banished” completely…this is a straw man argument. Unless you go into self-exile on an abandoned desert island, there will always be tempting things in your immediate environment. Thus, just living in the real world – where there are restaurants and bakeries and holidays and office treats and parties – is quite sufficient to experience “self control conflict” and opportunities to develop willpower. I completely agree that “self control can be trained” – but keeping crap in the house and then willing yourself to not eat it is hardly the best way to begin.
Share
Rob on 27 Sep 2008 at 6:17 pm #
What you say reminds me of the puppy training course my son & I attended a year ago. One drill was to have the dog run through an obstacle course of distractions without stopping and checking them out. Of course the reward was a treat and praise for ignoring the other sights and smells.
However outside that training environment though the behavior was improved, the dog still did not abstain from sudden distractions. So thus similar to puppies, it’s not likely that people can be expected deal with the real world of temptations any better. So the fewer opportunities to indulge all the better.