Thinking about food

Recent research has found that trying not to think about food may be counterproductive.

'Trying not to think about it' is a common way of dealing with unpleasant or difficult things in everyday life.

However, researchers are agreed that deliberate attempts to suppress unwanted thoughts can sometimes lead to a paradoxical increase in the frequency of those thoughts.

Thought suppression may be one of the factors contributing to increased food-related thinking in obese, highly-restrained eaters.

Source: Appetite, May 2006