健康生活:體重暗示影響"吃多少"

How much food people consume can be influenced by subtle cues about weight that aren't consciously perceived, according to a novel chocolate-tasting study in the journAl Appetite.

《食慾》(Appetite)期刊發表的一項讓實驗者品嚐巧克力的新研究表明，人們的食物攝入量會受到無意識下所感知的微妙體重暗示的影響。

The research involved two experiments in Switzerland. In one test, 95 volunteers, who ranged in age from 16 to 74 years old, participated in five-minute sessions in which they were instructed to help themselves from a bowl of chocolates and then complete taste evaluations. Just outside of the participants' range of vision was a computer screen displaying a well-known artwork.

這項研究涉及到在瑞士所做的兩個實驗。在其中一個實驗中，研究人員提供了一碗巧克力，讓95名年齡在16歲至74歲之間的志願者在五分鐘內隨便吃，並要求他們完成味道評估問卷。剛好在志願者視野範圍之外的地方有一臺計算機，屏幕顯示的是一件知名的藝術品。

During a tasting by 47 volunteers, the computer screen displayed an image of three extremely thin humanlike figures in an Alberto Giacometti sculpture. For the other 48 participants, the image displayed was of a Mark Rothko painting of two different-colored, horizontally arranged rectangles.

在47名志願者品嚐巧克力期間，電腦屏幕顯示的圖片是阿爾佩託•賈科梅蒂(Alberto Giacometti)一件雕像作品中三個極瘦的人形雕塑。在另外48人品嚐時，顯示的圖片是馬克•羅斯科（Mark Rothko）的一幅畫作，上面是兩個不同顏色的、水平放置的矩形。

When the Rothko painting was displayed, people consumed on average 6.4 chocolates per person. That compared with 4.7 pieces of chocolate consumed when the Giacometti sculptures were displayed. The researchers said most participants didn't notice the artwork on the computer screens, according to questionnaires completed after the tasting.

當電腦顯示羅斯科的畫作時，志願者每人平均吃掉6.4塊巧克力。而當電腦顯示賈科梅蒂的雕塑時，人均攝入量是4.7塊巧克力。研究人員說，從品嚐後完成的問卷調查來看，大多數參與者並沒有注意到電腦屏幕上的藝術品。

A second experiment involved 78 new volunteers, ages 19 to 82, who were invited for individual chocolate-tasting sessions. Thirty-eight of the participants completed questionnaires about gender, age and weight before the five-minute tasting sessions. The other 40 people completed the questionnaire after the sessions. Chocolate consumption averaged 4.5 pieces when the surveys were done before the tasting, and six pieces when the questions were answered afterward. About two-thirds of the participants in both experiments were women.

另外一項實驗涉及到另外78名年齡在19歲至82歲之間的志願者，他們被邀請參加單獨的五分鐘品嚐巧克力活動。其中38名志願者在品嚐前完成了有關性別、年齡和體重的問卷調查。另外40人在品嚐後完成問卷。品嚐前做完問卷調查的那組志願者平均每人吃掉了4.5塊巧克力，品嚐後完成問卷的那組志願者平均每人吃掉了六塊巧克力。兩個實驗的參與者中均有約三分之一爲女性。