People more likely to eat fruits within reach

Want to stay healthy - thenplace fruits in a clear bowl within arm's
reach, so that you could help yourself whenever you felt the urgeto
eat.
The new study says that when fruits are within reach, people are more
likely to eat them. Greater visibility of fruit increases their
intake, but the same does not hold true for vegetables.
Researchers Gregory J. Privitera and Heather E. Creary, both from St.
Bonaventure University, Olean, U.S., tested a total of96 college
students by placing apple slices and carrot cuts in either clear
oropaque bowls at a table close at arms' length or at a table two
metres away.
Participants watched as the food was taken out of its packaging and
were told that they were welcome to eat it, the journal Environment
and Behaviour reports.
After leaving the students alone with the food for 10 minutes, the
researchers found that when apples and carrots were left close to the
participants, those healthy foods were more likely to be eaten,
according to St. Bonaventure statement.
Interestingly, making the food more visible to participants by placing
them in clear bowls increased the intake of the apples but not the
carrots. The researchers said this might be due to the fact that fruit
is sweeter and may induce more motivation to eat than bitter-tasting
vegetables.
"Apples, but not carrots, have sugar, which is known to stimulate
brain reward regions that inducea 'wanting' for foods that contain
sugar," the authorswrote. "Hence, apple slices may be more visually
appealing than carrots."

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