It’s Like ‘A Clockwork Orange’ but for Dieting
What does Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange have to do with obesity research? Just as Alex, the book’s (and the Stanley Kubrick film’s) main character, is physiologically trained to become physically ill when he considers the “ultra-violence” he so loved, learning to be a little bit disgusted by the foods we desire despite how unhealthy they are could help us avoid them.
That’s the gist of a new study published this week in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers from the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and Denver VA Medical Center used what’s called subliminal priming to condition a group of test subjects to become less interested in eating high-calorie foods such as french fries.
Unlike A Clockwork Orange, however, the experiment didn’t involve pulling back eyelids and playing lots of Beethoven. Rather, subjects were shown a series of pictures of high-calorie foods and then asked how much they would like to eat them. After responding that they would like to eat the food, one group of subjects was quickly flashed a disturbing image, which was displayed just long enough to register on a subliminal level.
“With their amygdalas fired up with feelings of disgust, volunteers again saw photos of high-calorie foods,” NPR reported. “But this time, they didn’t want to eat the foods as badly as before the flash. Their minds were still churning with that phantom repulsion, and those effects lasted.” No images were flashed to those in the control group.
The authors conclude that such treatment could be “used to alter high-calorie food preferences, which could promote healthier eating habits.” But according to a Alain Dagher, a neurologist at McGill University who was not involved with the study, it is less likely to succeed than the Ludovico technique–style aversion therapy Alex experiences—and later has reversed—in A Clockwork Orange.
“Obviously, as a therapy, it really wouldn’t work,” Dagher told NPR. “I don’t think I could imagine a situation where you just make people disgusted by every single high-calorie food.”
Related stories on TakePart:
• Jane Says: Detox Diets Are Bogus
• America's Healthy New Diet: Fewer Burgers, More Melted Cheese
• A Tale of Two All-McDonald's Diets
Original article from TakePart
