News Article 19

Is "food porn" making us fat?




This is how The Guardian represented the story:

As the name suggests, “food porn” is usually considered a vicarious pleasure. You might not have the time, or the waistline, to make Nigella Lawson’s ice cream cake, for example, but, by seeing her making it on TV, you can get at least a little of the thrill without the calories. However, for those who think it’s healthier to look but not touch, there’s some bad news. A recent review of scientific studies suggest that excessive looking could actually be making us fatter after all.

The argument is that, when we see an attractive image of food, blood rushes to the parts of our brain associated with taste. We experience the desire to eat, even if we’re not hungry. According to one of the authors of the review, Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University, this has been measured in brain scans. “The taste cortex lights up,” he says. “There’s an increase in blood-flow and, depending on the state of the person, or how realistic the image is, it might be triggering restraint mechanisms. You’re seeing it and thinking: ‘I shouldn’t be eating that.’”

Our brains, which evolved to be constantly on the lookout for difficult-to-find calories, are now relentlessly confronted by a barrage of easily obtained deliciousness. Over the course of the day our restraint mechanisms have to kick in again and again until, ultimately, we might give up and reach for a slice of cake.

This may seem to contradict the concept of “food porn” as an alternative to actual food but Dr Spence argues that one is a powerful incitement to the other. “The traditional notion is that it’s harmless fun and I can have the pleasure without the calories,” he says. “What we’re trying to say in this paper is that there are consequences from food porn. It’s a term that hints at the way that it depletes our resources of self-restraint. When we sit down for a meal at home after watching a cookery programme maybe we eat more than we would otherwise have done.” 

Manufacturers and chefs are getting increasingly sophisticated in the way they present food. They understand what’s going on in our brain when we look at their product. “When you see a picture of food on a package you imagine what it would be like to eat it,” says Spence. “And if I make it look like it’s easier to eat you’ll enjoy it more. For example, if I put a spoon on the right hand side of the cereal bowl in the picture, and you’re a right-hander, that’ll make it much easier for you to imagine eating it. Where as if I put the spoon on the left it doesn’t look as nice.”

My opinion on the news story:

This news article immediately caught my interest and it is very relevant because it shows the power of advertising and it highlights that all media is constructed because even food manufacturers are promoting their products in certain, enhanced ways to encourage their audience to desire and want to buy the product. There is lots of good information in this article and The Guardian have included quotations, examples and statistics which engage the viewer and I personally learnt a lot from reading it. I agree with the effect "food porn" may have on us and I believe this is an interesting study that can be linked to serious topics such as obesity.