Hungry grocery shoppers tend to buy higher-calorie products, suggests a research letter by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., and Aner Tal, Ph.D., of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

According to the results, hungry laboratory participants chose a higher number of higher-calorie products but there were no differences between conditions in the number of lower-calorie choices and the total number of food items selected. Field study shoppers who completed the study at times when they were more likely to be hungry (between 4-7 p.m.) bought less low-calorie food relative to high-calorie food options compared with those who completed the study when they were less likely to be hungry, the results also indicate.
"Even short-term food deprivation can lead to a shift in choices such that people choose less low-calorie, and relatively more high-calorie, food options. Given the prevalence of short-term food deprivation, this has important health implications," the study concludes.
(JAMA Intern Med. Published online May 6, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.650. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor's Note: The research was made possible by support from Cornell University. Please see article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Source-Newswise