Reduced food intake after exposure to subtle weight-related cues

This research investigated the influence of weight-related cues on food intake. The first study used a screensaver showing three of the famous skinny human-like sculptures by Alberto Giacometti and found that participants in this condition consumed less chocolate than when they were exposed to a more neutral work of art. In the second study, participants had to indicate their body weight either before or after the tasting. Reporting their weight before the tasting resulted in reduced food intake. A gender effect was found for the second but not the first study. We suggest that the cues in the two studies might have been processed with different levels of awareness, which might explain the gender effect found in the second study.

► Slim sculptures reduce food intake even when processed without awareness. ► Indicating one’s body weight reduces food intake in a subsequent chocolate tasting. ► Gender moderates the effect only in the second study; females are more affected.