You go to the gas station for a snack and you are immediately inundated with options—each crunchier than the next. Walking down the cereal aisle at the grocery store with your kid, you notice that the brightly illustrated mascots’ eyes are pointing down, trying to connect with your child. You stream your favorite reality TV show and see weight-loss ads that are pushed to you by the same companies that seduce you with unnatural flavors. What’s the deal?
We spoke with Ashley Gearhardt, professor of psychology at LSA, about Big Food’s siren song that aims to keep us hooked on the crunch—and how we can resist it.
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Gearhardt also recommends tracking cravings in order to identify triggers. “It could be certain times of day, or a certain meeting, or walking past a certain vending machine,” she says. Having that knowledge means that clients can prepare themselves; they can, for instance, start carrying peanuts or baby oranges in their bag, as she does.
“What are things you can realistically fit into your lifestyle?” she asks. “These tools help tune down those cravings so I don’t feel deprived.”
Above all, Gearhardt empathizes with the allure of ultraprocessed foods. The industry’s processes are intended to be addictive, and snacks are “being delivered into the body more like a cigarette than a fruit or vegetable,” she says.
The stakes? Gearhardt makes them known in no uncertain terms: “It’s a slow-motion overdose.”
Read the complete article in LSA News
