Psychology in Action

Tag: obesity

  • Weighing in on Weight Stigma: Obesity Stigma Symposium at UCLA

    The prevalence of adult obesity in the United States has nearly doubled since 1980, and over two-thirds of American adults are currently overweight or obese. Weight bias (stereotyping or discrimination directed at an individual related to his/her weight) is prevalent in modern American society, and overweight individuals experience weight bias from a range of sources,…

  • Social Facilitation and Food: Your Friends are Bigger than Your Stomach

    Social Facilitation and Food: Your Friends are Bigger than Your Stomach

    In the 21st century, many people still attribute their eating behavior primarily to factors such as hunger and taste. However, research on the psychology of eating indicates that the social presence and behavior of others can also have an enormous impact on food consumption.

  • How We See Food

    I’m not a great cook, but I know what I like. Or do I? Research from Brian Wansink and colleagues may challenge our ideas about how we think of food. How do we behave at buffets? Can a clever name really encourage us to eat something ordinary? Will placement of food at a cafeteria really…

  • How Food Companies Market to Children Online

    Keeping children eating healthy foods is one of the most important things one can do as a parent.  And one of the most difficult.  It’s probably no surprise that most food companies market directly to children, spending $1.6 billion a year to do so.  In fact, in 2006 the Institute of Medicine concluded that food…

  • NY Times doctor ignores decades of research

    A man who can not control his blood sugar levels (he’s diabetic) comes into a medical clinic with gangrene so aggressive that people in the clinic hallway can smell his rotting flesh. This is the story Dr. Pauline W. Chen writes about in her NY Times Health article, “When Doctor’s Advice is Ignored at Home”.

  • Testing theoretical models while answering real world questions

    In my previous blog post I wrote about the need for applying health research to improve community health. Another glaring need is to conduct research that both test theoretical models and addresses community-relevant questions. What does this mean? Dr. Eve Brank and Lindsey Wylie outline a perfect example in their recent Monitor on Psychology article…

  • Will my kid be overweight as an adult?

    What are the risk factors for obesity? What predicts which children will become obese as adults? Here are a few psychological and behavioral risk factors that have been identified: – Diet restriction. Children who try to restrict the types and amounts of foods they eat on a consistent basis are more likely to be obese…