Ever gone to the grocery story intending to buy apples and milk and left with a jar of queso dip, a gallon of ice cream and an enormous bag of Halloween candy? Impulse shopping can wreak havoc on your healthy eating plans, but experts say it may not be entirely your fault.
An editorial published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine blames part of the obesity epidemic on our food environment. Dr. Deborah Cohen and Dr. Susan Babey collaborated to write the article "Candy at the Cash Register - A Risk Factor for Obesity and Chronic Disease."
"The reality is that food choices are often automatic and made without full conscious awareness," the authors write. "In many cases they may even be the opposite of what the person deciding would consciously prefer."
Advertising encourages spur-of-the-moment emotional purchases that are triggered by seeing the product, according to the editorial. The way food is arranged in a grocery store can have a big impact on what consumers buy. A 2009 study showed products placed at the end of the aisle account for 30% of all supermarket sales.
"People lack the capacity to fully control their eye gaze, and what they look at the longest is the strongest predictor of what they will buy," the authors write.
Cohen and Babey propose treating product placement as a risk factor for obesity. Comparing it to safety regulations for a building, they write: "Although people could certainly stay away from the edges of balconies and not lean out of windows, mandatory railings and window guards protect them from falling ... (regulations could) govern the design and placement of foods in retail outlets to protect consumers."
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Ghana’s embassy in Tehran shut with immediate effect over Iran-Israel war
1 minute -
‘We never thought they would give us a game like this’ – Kwame Opoku on Golden Kick performance
7 minutes -
Repeal “embarrassing” Dumsor Levy completely – Akosua Manu to government
8 minutes -
Ofori-Atta isn’t running away from accountability; he is simply unwell – Haruna Mohammed
14 minutes -
Go to court and stop prosecuting your cases in the media – Haruna Mohammed to AG
20 minutes -
Investigators find cockpit voice recorder from crashed Air India flight
23 minutes -
Asante Kotoko to feature in next season’s CAF Confederation Cup
28 minutes -
CWC 2025: PSG run riot against 10-man Atletico Madrid
38 minutes -
Government to release DRIP machines for farm road projects – Agric Minister
38 minutes -
Government’s justification for fuel tax suspension ‘a joke’ – MP
43 minutes -
‘We pampered them too long; now they’re biting,’ Franklin Cudjoe says of nurses’ strike
2 hours -
EC to update Parliament on Ablekuma North deadlock this week
2 hours -
Share a Coke magic of finding your name on the iconic bottle returns
2 hours -
See list of 25 private schools added to the free SHS programme
2 hours -
Coding is no longer enough: Why Africa needs AI literacy in every school
2 hours