False memory could aid dieting

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Psychologists have shown they can induce an aversion to fattening foods via the creation of false memory.
We know that psychology plays a big role in keeping to a healthy weight. Now researchers at the University of California, Irvine, show that memory - even false memory - can play a role in helping people avoid certain foods.

People can be persuaded that they remember something that didn't actually happen - it's called false memory syndrome. The researchers managed to convince people that strawberry ice cream and choc chip cookies - both fattening foods - made them sick when they were young and they really didn't care for them. They managed to get over 40 per cent of the 204 participants to agree with this. The next step is to see whether this mental aversion would actually carry over into their food choices. The team is also looking to see if false memory can be applied to healthy foods too - that is, can they convince people that they always liked vegetables when they were kids? After all, many of our adult food preferences are set in childhood. So if people can be convinced they liked healthy food and disliked unhealthy foods as a child, it may help them make better food choices as adults.

Source
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online 1st August 2005

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