Distractions Diminish Food Cravings

Food craving has become a much more prominent focal point because we're finding out that the brain's reward pathways are what drive most of the overeating in the U.S. and industrialized nations,It's not due to physiological need. ... The reward salience, or craving, usually wins out." Two studies reported here at the Obesity Week meeting show that cognitive strategies for turning attention away from food cravings help patients turn off the desire to indulge -- at least temporarily. Both studies sought to test cognitive strategies to suppress cravings, with one taking a mental tack and the other a more physical approach. patients who were told to use four basic cognitive strategies while looking at pictures of food: Distract: Think about anything other than the food Allow: Accept your thoughts and recognize they're just thoughts that don't need to be acted upon Later: Focus on the negative long-term consequences of eating the food Now: Focus on the immediate reward of the food Demos and colleagues found that focusing on long-term consequences reduced the urge to eat most significantly -- and it also increased brain activity in areas associated with inhibitory control, particularly the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ObesityWeek/48472?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2014-11-08&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=ST&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&email=amydugan2%40gmail.com&mu_id=5883165&utm_term=Daily This contradicts other studies that said focusing on the meal and savoring each bite vs eating mindlessly while watching tv or playing video games , resulted in eating less calories each meal.