研究：在黑暗中进食有助减肥
Eat in the dark to lose weight, say scientists
Turning the lights out or wearing a blindfold while eating could be a quick way to lose weight, according to scientists.
科学家称,关上灯或是蒙上眼睛吃东西,不失为一条减肥的捷径.
The simple trick works because it stops diners eating for pleasure rather than for calories. It also triggers a part of the brain that is worried that unseen food may be rotten without visual clues to show it is fresh.
这一方法之所以有效,是因为它降低了美食的诱惑力,同时让大脑无从判断食物新鲜与否,进而影响食欲.
An experiment by the University of Konstanz, in Germany, found that people who were blindfolded consumed nine per cent fewer calories before they felt full, compared to those who could see.
德国康斯坦茨大学的一项试验发现,对比能够看着食物进餐的人,蒙住眼睛进食的受试者要少摄入9%卡路里.
They also vastly overestimated how much they had eaten because they could not see how much was left on the plate. Blindfolded volunteers estimated they had eaten 88 per cent more than they actually had.
同时,因为不知道盘中究竟还剩多少,蒙眼进食的人对自己刚才进食量的估计远高于实际情况.他们估计自己所吃掉的份量要比他们实际食用的高出88%.
Scientists believe that not seeing food on the table also allows the body to know when it is full in real-time rather than remembering past experiences where it might have taken a full plate to feel satiated.
科学家们还认为,摸黑进食能让人更直观地了解究竟吃多少才算饱,而平时人们根据经验,要吃上一整碗饭才满足.
It also prevents the 'cephalic' phase of digestion which is triggered by the sight of food, promoting salivation and the release of gastric juices and so makes food, literally, less easy to swallow.
人们在摸黑进食时,由于看不见食物,大脑消化组织刺激分泌的唾液与胃液就会少得多,让食物较难下咽.
Lead author Dr Britta Renner said: "Visual deprivation caused a pronounced dissociation between actual and perceived intake.
此次研究的首席作者布瑞塔·伦纳博士说："视觉的剥夺会让自我感觉的进食量与实际情况之间产生偏差."
"This may provide an unobtrusive and naturalistic means to change the experience of eating behaviour."
