Could A Game Curb Snacking?

A computer game may help some people control their unhealthy snacking habits, says study.

17:45 26 June 2015

An online game, developed by psychologists at the University of Exeter and Cardiff University has helped some people control their unhealthy snacking habits. Forty one adults participated in the study and their brains were trained to cut out calories by telling them to avoid pressing on pictures of certain images, such as biscuits and chocolates. The participants, most of whom are overweight, played the 10-minute game four times in a week. The participants lost an average of 1.5lb and consumed around 220 fewer calories a day during the week of training.  

 

Dr Natalia Lawrence, from the University of Exeter, who led the research, said the game had the ability to change some people's eating behaviour, but it was still early days.

 

"This research is still in its infancy and the effects are modest. Larger, registered trials with longer-term measures need to be conducted.

 

"However, our findings suggest that this cognitive training approach is worth pursuing: it is free, easy to do and 88% of our participants said they would be happy to keep doing it."