from the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
We have seen messages warning that
sugary snacks are bad. They are part of
campaigns to reverse the epidemic of
obesity. But a study at Arizona State
University wondered about the
effectiveness of these messages from the
“food police.” Turns out those allnegative
messages actually make us
more likely to eat sugary snacks. The
study found that dieters responded
better when the message they saw
contained both positive and negative
information. Instead of eating thirty-nine
percent more sugary snacks after
watching a negative “food police”
message, they ate forty-seven percent
fewer unhealthy snacks while watching a
balanced message. The article in the
Journal of the Association for Consumer
Research concludes negative messages
about unhealthy food will backfire.