Do your friends regularly post pictures of the
delicious meals or desserts they’ve created?
Do you look at them and feel your mouth water?
Or do you like to watch those cooking shows where they regularly whip up something awesome and then eat it in front of you–after which you find yourself staring into the refrigerator even though you just finished eating?
If so, you may be a victim of “food porn.” Unfortunately, all those pretty pictures could lead to weight gain.
How Food Porn Messes with a Writer’s Health
The official definition of “food porn” is “images that portray food in a very appetizing or aesthetically appealing way.” And with the Internet and smartphones, say nothing of television, it’s become ubiquitous in our society.
Not like we needed more encouragements to eat. Statistics show that one out of three Americans is overweight. But according to scientists, food porn makes the whole battle with weight much harder.
In a 2012 study, scientists tested the reaction of healthy men to images showing either delicious food or non-edible objects. They measured levels of hormones involved in food consumption like grehlin (the “hunger hormone”), leptin (the “satiety” hormone), and insulin (the hormone that helps manage blood sugar).
Results showed that after the men saw the pictures of the delicious food, levels of grehlin went up! In other words, seeing the pictures made the men feel hungry, whether they really were or not.
A later review found similar results. Participants who viewed “food porn” were more likely to eat more than they should compared to those who weren’t viewing food porn. Study author Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University told The Guardian, “I do think government agencies should think seriously about our exposure to visual food cues. We’re being subjected to so much food stimuli and nobody’s really thought about the consequences.”
Another study out of Oxford University found that food porn and television shows about food make it harder to resist eating. Other research has shown that these images we see on TV, the Internet, and social media tell only one side of the story—how good the food is likely to taste—without reminding us about the very real health consequences of eating too much.
We writers need not be reminded. We know how easy it is to gain when we’re sitting at the computer for hours and snacking away to keep our brains alive.
How to Resist Overeating Because of Food Porn
To protect yourself from this very real health hazard, try these tips:
1. Avoid food television shows.
If you just can’t stand the idea of avoiding them completely, try cutting back to just one show, or take a break from them for a week or two and see how it affects your cravings.
2. Avoid cooking/food sites with lots of pictures.
If you’re looking for a recipe, try to focus on sites that have more words than images. They’re harder to find these days, but they can help you avoid overeating. Also try to avoid sites that bombard you with food images in general.
3. Be aware of your social media posts.
How many of your connections on social media regularly post food pictures? If you have a lot of them, you may want to consider getting away from some. If you’re Pinterest or Instagram, try following more people who post non-food related photos.
4. Question your hunger response.
Become more aware of your own responses. Do you find yourself searching for food within a half-hour of viewing food images? If you do, pause before you eat. Ask yourself if you’re really hungry for food, or if a glass of water or cup of tea might do the trick. It could also be that you’re “emotionally hungry”—try talking to a friend or family member instead. Distracting yourself for just five minutes can be enough to get around that craving.
5. Unplug at least once a week.
It’s a good idea to get away from the Internet and social media once a week anyway (reduces stress, gives your eyes a break), but it can also help you reconnect with your true hunger cues without being overly influenced by what you’re seeing.
Do you fall victim to “food porn?”
Sources
Alexander, S. (2015, October 15). Want to lose weight? Stop looking at ‘food porn’, say scientists. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/food-porn-could-be-making-you-fatter/
Baker, T. (2018, August 2). Is ‘food porn’ making us fat? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2015/oct/16/is-food-porn-making-us-fat
Schüssler, P., Kluge, M., Yassouridis, A., Dresler, M., Uhr, M., & Steiger, A. (2012). Ghrelin Levels Increase After Pictures Showing Food. Obesity, 20(6), 1212-1217. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.385
Spence, C., Okajima, K., Cheok, A. D., Petit, O., & Michel, C. (2016). Eating with our eyes: From visual hunger to digital satiation. Brain and Cognition, 110, 53-63. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2015.08.006
I immediately delete all food posts from my facebook page, and then I delete the site that sent them. I’m getting fewer and fewer food posts, now. And I still love food, just seeing it less.
Sounds like a wise approach, Claudia!
Yes, it’s definitely a good idea to be careful about what you watch, read and listen to for all sorts of reasons.
I’ve also found mindfulness to be a useful tool for this. There’s a difference between acknowledging a craving and giving into it.
So true. And yes, mindfulness can help. But sometimes those images look sooooooo good! (ha)