Will watching the Olympic Games make you eat more?
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Will watching the Olympic Games make you eat more?
The Relationship Between Watching Sports and Eating Habits
Will watching the Olympic Games or your favorite sports team lead you to indulge in junk food? Research suggests that there is a strong correlation between watching sports and increased food consumption. In this article, we will explore the surprising link between the difficulty of the sports you watch and your likelihood of reaching for a snack.
The Connection Between Watching Sports and Candy Consumption
In a recent study, our research team, along with Jannine Lasaleta, found that watching sports videos can significantly increase candy consumption. But here’s the twist: the difficulty of the sports you watch plays a crucial role in these effects.
From Screens to Junk Food
In our experiment, we invited 112 students to watch a video and test some candies. Half of the students watched a video with men and women playing sports, while the other half watched a video without any physical activity. We then gave each student a 70g cup of candy and asked them to judge its quality for three minutes. The results were striking: the students who saw the sports video ate more candy than those who saw the video without physical activity.
The Gender Divide
Interestingly, our initial test revealed that male students indulged in far more candy than female students. Perhaps the results were triggered by males’ consumption? We were also unsure if the type of sport watched affects the candy intake.
The Difficulty of the Sports Video
To learn more, we invited just the female students to watch videos portraying either easy (light running) or difficult-to-perform sports (athletics long jump, gymnastics, baseball, rugby, or rock climbing). After testing the candies, we found that students who watched the easy sports video ate much more candy than those who watched the difficult sports video.
The Impact of Ease vs. Difficulty on Candy Consumption
Our findings suggest that the ease or difficulty of the exercise shown significantly impacts candy consumption – watching easy-to-perform sports leads to considerably higher candy intake than watching difficult ones.
Why is This Happening?
To explain our findings, we looked at research on goal motivation. When people feel they are not meeting a goal, they push harder; but once they see progress, they tend to slack off. This can lead to a drop in motivation to pursue related goals, like healthy eating.
Goal Motivation and the Role of Vicarious Fulfilment
Research shows that achieving smaller goals (like exercising) can make people feel they have earned a break, which can result in indulging more in food. So completing a workout might make you more likely to reward yourself with extra food than if you had not finished your session.
The Relationship Between Watching Sports and Eating Habits: A Takeaway
This knowledge can be used by policymakers or marketers who aim to encourage healthful lifestyles. When promoting healthy activities by picturing physical activity that seems too easy, people may feel a greater sense of achievement that could backfire and lead to increased consumption.
Conclusion
In conclusion, should you watch the Olympic games if you want to keep up with your diet? Of course, but it might be better to choose the physical activities you find the most difficult to perform – and watch them without moderation.
FAQs
Q: Can watching sports on a screen also influence how much we eat?
A: Yes, our research shows that watching sports videos can increase candy consumption.
Q: Is there a link between the difficulty of the sports you watch and your likelihood of eating more?
A: Yes, our findings suggest that watching easy-to-perform sports leads to higher candy intake than watching difficult ones.
Q: Why are women more susceptible to the phenomenon of eating more candy after watching an easy-to-perform sports video?
A: It’s because women are more concerned with their weight than men and therefore their dieting goals are more salient.
Q: How can we use this knowledge to promote healthy lifestyles?
A: By promoting physical activities that are more challenging and showing easy exercises followed by tougher ones, we can motivate people to start with basic exercises while reminding them that there is still a long way to go to reach their fitness goals.
Q: What’s the takeaway for us?
A: Be mindful of how watching sports can affect our eating habits. If you’re aiming to stay on track with your diet, watch more challenging sports – it might just help you resist that extra chocolate bar.
