Psychologists in the UK have created a video game that causes ‘significant’ weight loss simply by playing, no exercise required. This isn’t the Wii Fit of yesteryear, you don’t have to stand up and pretend to play video games. With this new game there’s the possibility of shedding pounds simply by playing 4, 10-minute sessions a week. How’s this possible? Psychological mindf*ckery to the highest degree!!!
It sounds too good to be true but a couple of UK psychologists claim they have come up with a video game that will train your brain to avoid fatty, unhealthy foods that result in people packing on the pounds.
But before you celebrate by ordering a large McDonald’s fries, the professors at the University of Exeter and Cardiff University said the weight loss in their controlled test was about 1¹/₂ pounds a week — and that those taking part in the test kept a log of what they ate.
Keeping food diaries have long shown to be a good method of limiting calories on their own. Plus, the video game is not yet available.
In the game, players are repeatedly warned to avoid pressing on pictures of bad foods, like cookies, while responding to images of good foods, like fruits and veggies.
Playing the game therefore trains people to associate calorie-dense foods with “stopping,” according to Dr. Natalia Lawrence, of Exeter, the lead researcher in the study. Those in the study ate 220 fewer calories a day.
“These findings are among the first to suggest that a brief, simple computerized tool can change people’s everyday eating behavior,” she said. “It is exciting to see the effects of our lab studies translate to the real world”
The professor warned that the research is still in its infancy and the effects are modest.
In the latest study, sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and published in the journal Appetite, the psychologists found that 41 adults who completed four 10-minute sessions of the training online lost a small but significant amount of weight and ate fewer calories (estimated from food diaries).
The reduction in weight and unhealthy snacking was maintained six months after the study according to participants’ self-report.
So what if 1.5-pounds a week doesn’t sound like a lot. I’m not exactly husky to begin with, so losing 1.5-pounds a week over the course of the next year would have me straight up shredded. If I can lose 1.5-pounds a week playing video games I’ll be in Spring Break shape by the end of the Summer! This is THE DREAM.
This would be true….if I wasn’t spending my weekends eating food like this (which I highly suggest to any of you NYC bros):
Sunday afternoon ramen from @momofuku noodle bar. My first time here (embarrassing, I know), won't be my last. pic.twitter.com/vTE8Dvm7Q7
— Cass Anderson (@casspa) June 28, 2015
“”
For more on this study you can click on over to the NYPost by following the link above!