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Getting rid of the sweet tooth takes 25 seconds

American scientists have found the solution so that we can finally get rid of the irrepressible urge to eat a fatty or sweet food. The purpose of this study? Waiting 25 seconds would reduce the craving for a “bad” food in favor of a healthy food. To conduct the study, the researchers installed a tool in a vending machine selling crisps, candy bars and other snacks. This machine is called DISC (for delays to influence snack choices in VF). Snacks were divided into two categories:the first corresponding to healthy snacks and the second to less healthy snacks. When you order a healthy product, it falls right away. If you want a less good product, you have to wait 25 seconds. The conclusion is that with each passing second we have less desire to eat the product because of the waiting time. This machine was placed among other regular vending machines in a university and 5% more healthy products were chosen, compared to other machines.

A way to fight junk food

The researchers therefore deduced that time could play in favor of a healthier diet. Other means exist, but they are financial with, for example, a tax on sodas and fatty products. What the researchers defend is that without making a profit, we can encourage a correct diet. It's the same for efforts, notes one of the researchers, taking an elevator as an example:if the elevator is slow, we will tend to take the stairs. The author of this research would like to decline the study by proposing, for example, to speed up checkout for people who have bought a lot of fruit and vegetables.

Fighting extra pounds with patience, who would have thought?