Marketers skillfully awaken people’s appetite by showing juicy burgers or delicate milk chocolate bars from the TV screen. Some are convinced that they get fat only from one kind of «sinful» food. Studies have shown that the power of advertising is indeed very great and it is difficult for us to resist it.
This thing in the picture on the screen looks just great, you just want to bite it off: crispy dough, lush stuffing with baked cheese. Isn’t this pizza amazing? We look at it and almost in reality we smell and taste in the mouth. Although in fact we are tempted by just an advertising photo. But it works. How?
Appetizing photos and videos of food and drink beckon from billboards and shop windows, they interrupt interesting films and TV programs, make you jump from page to page on the Internet. It seems that high-calorie foods are all over the place. But what are these optical stimulators actually doing to the brain? Can we resist their impact? And are they responsible, at least in part, for our constant struggle with extra pounds?
Pavlov’s dog principle
These questions were asked by the psychologist Jens Blehert from the University of Salzburg. “We are already well aware of the main characteristics of the processes to which “appetizing” images owe their effect,” says the researcher. A well-taken photograph of a delicious dish will make most observers feel the same way as the famous Pavlovian dog. In an experiment by Pavlov at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, a dog was given food when the scientist rang a bell. The animal quickly assimilated this connection, and one sound of the bell was enough to awaken the appetite and saliva.
Such learning processes, which behaviorists call classical conditions, also exist in humans. However, in recent decades, they have not attracted much scientific interest, and this concept has fallen out of fashion. “But recently the situation has changed,” says Jens Blehert. Obesity and its health consequences have become a serious problem in many countries. Why do people eat more than necessary? It seems that the processes occurring in human organisms are very similar to those that were in Pavlov’s dog.
The appearance of appetite when looking at food has nothing to do with real hunger. “You can cover the required energy of 2000 kcal per day, but when you see the picture on the menu, you can’t resist ordering dessert.” For many people, an appetizing photograph is akin to ringing a bell for Pavlov’s dog. It’s a stimulus that they have associated in the brain with positive associations.
Seeing Appetizing Images Affects Pleasure Areas in the Brain
“These paintings draw strength from previous experiences with the respective food,” explains Jens Blechert. Unknown food is probably perceived by us as neutral. But it’s enough to try something once and find it tasty, so that the next time when you see a picture of this dish, a memory will work.”
For example, eating a burger stimulates the flow of saliva, increases blood sugar levels, releases insulin, which starts the metabolism, and a pleasant feeling of satiety occurs relatively quickly. This positive experience is remembered by the brain. Next time, we don’t need any burger in front of us to want it again. A poster in a fast food restaurant is enough to make saliva flow, trigger insulin production and all sorts of psychological processes.
The sight of appetizing images affects the brain’s satisfaction sites, a complex network of nerve cells that integrates sensory perception, emotion, and memory. It happens when people or animals experience something positive and causes us to reproduce the state of happiness over and over again. It doesn’t matter if it’s about sex or a hamburger. Thus, photography can tempt us to eat more than our body needs.
We are all cavemen
The reward system in the brain originated in primitive times. “After all, the ancestors often spent several days on the road until they satisfied their hunger. The challenge was to keep the motivation going long enough,” says Jens Blechert. To ensure this, the reward system was probably «designed». And by the time of the first opportunity to get food, the digestive system should be on alert. She must distinguish edible from inedible and with the first irritants — the type of food, smells — start the necessary reactions and processes in the body.
Through the complex interaction of the senses, the brain, and the digestive system, evolution has adapted the human body well to ancient tasks. The smell or sight of appetizing food evokes the same reactions in modern city dwellers as it does in cavemen, in preparation for the meal. This, in turn, increases the desire, which is difficult to resist.
Moreover, the advertised products are usually really very tasty. Manufacturers are well aware that most people prefer sweet or savory. And these preferences, too, probably originate from the early periods of mankind. Electrolyte balance requires both high-energy sugar and salt. In their pure form in the old days they were difficult to obtain. That is why they are valuable and in demand. The modern food industry skillfully appeals to our preferences and creatively creates different goodies that stimulate the pleasure center in the brain. But getting used to it dulls the effect a bit. And we are looking for more and more sources of stimulation.
Instant Scanner
“But this does not mean that consciousness does not play any role,” Blehert emphasizes. As seductive as it is, we are not entirely helpless when looking at enticing “food portraits.” Good news for dieters, Jens Blechert and Adrian Moyle from the University of Würzburg found out whether food cravings can be controlled using cognitive strategies. For example, would focusing on the long-term effects of overeating help?
The 25 women were shown pictures of food with a range of calories, from fruits, vegetables, and crispbread with cottage cheese to chips, pizza, and cream puffs. Participants were asked to imagine how eating these foods would affect them now and in the future. In the experiment, it turned out that we can accurately and quickly estimate the energy content of food. We barely need more than 15 hundredths of a second for this.
EEGs have shown that high-calorie and low-calorie food stimuli are processed differently in the brain. After the experiment, the participants had more desire to eat than before. However, individual products were more attractive depending on whether respondents focused on the expected short-term pleasure or the health problems that may arise in the future. With images of high-calorie foods, short-term expectations increased desire, while long-term perspective decreased it. For low calorie, it was the other way around. Those who viewed food images in the long term ended up choosing healthier foods.
Source: spektrum.de