Study on unhealthy choices

A MELBOURNE research project hopes to find out why we make unhealthy eating choices by examining how consuming ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks influence our decision-making.

Professor Antonio VerdejoGarcia, of the Monash University Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, said he hoped the research would help people choose healthier foods.

“We want to create a better understanding about why people, particularly those with obesity, make decisions about food that fuel unhealthy eating habits,” he said.

The five-year project will look at ways to intervene in those instant responses to food, tackling obesity.

“Two in three Australians are overweight or obese and over-consumption of energydense foods, such as pies or burgers, and sugary drinks is the main contributor to the obesity epidemic,” he said.

“Evidence so far seems to point to energy density (of food) being an important hook for our reward systems. And our own research is showing that people with obesity tend to have an increased reactivity of the reward system when they are considering food choices, and probably that is fuelling some of the unhealthy eating habits.’’

The study is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council grant.