Can Certain Words Make You Eat More? Study Says Maybe
I don't need another reason to overeat but now a new study is saying that I have to be careful what words I read. Certain words can make us eat more. Great. Researchers have identified how food word cues influenced by both stress and genetics can be associated with increased food desire and intake, according to newswise.com. "Food cues" come in many forms including emotions, images, smells, tastes and even food words. Food words could be considered a relatively minimal food cue compared with images or smells; however, because they are ubiquitous in advertising and other contexts, they have significant potential to impact eating behavior. Who doesn't associate bread baking with mom's kitchen? Well, maybe not mine, but that's the cozy, comforting feeling many of us get when there's that delicious buttery smell wafting around. Does seeing the word make us hunger for it? Some, I suppose. But the image certainly might. In one...