Do candy bars have a tendency to
jump off the shelves and into your cart when you're at the supermarket? You're
not alone. From the weekly circulars to the cash register, the entire
grocery-shopping experience is designed to ensure you spend as much time and
money on junk food as possible.
But fear not! My book Eat It to
Beat It! is full of easy tips that empower you, the consumer, to stand your
ground against a food industry that wants to make you fat. Here are five ways
you can outsmart the supermarket and keep those sneaky vice foods out of your
cart.
1. Pay with cash.
Paper or plastic? When it comes
to checking out at the supermarket, paper money may be your best bet.
A series of experiments by
Cornell University looked at the effects of payment method on food choice. When
participants used credit cards, they bought more unhealthful "vice"
foods than they did "virtue" foods. Researchers suggest that you're more
likely to think twice about an impulse to buy junk food if it means parting
with a hundred dollar bill than swiping plastic.
2. Shop with a cart.
I know what you're thinking: A
basket has to be better than a cart because it's smaller -- less room for bad
decisions! In fact, a study in Journal of Marketing Research suggests the
opposite may be true: Shoppers gathering groceries in baskets are more likely
to reach for junk than cart pushers.
According to the study, shoppers
are more apt to compensate for the tension and strain a basket puts on the arm
with "vice products" such as candy and soda. In fact, the odds of
purchasing junk food at the cash register for a basket shopper was 6.84 times
that of someone shopping with a cart!
3. Pump up the jams.
Antisocial as it sounds, bringing
headphones to the supermarket and rocking out to some iTunes while you shop may
keep unwanted items out of your cart.
According to a well-cited study
by Ronald Milliman in the Journal of Marketing, supermarkets intentionally play
slow, calming music to reduce turnover. That translates to 38 percent more time
in the store, and an additional 29 percent more food in your cart! Stay jazzed
and focused with music that puts some pep in your step.
4. Have a snack before you shop.
If you're hungry, you're probably
not going to reach for a bag of lettuce, which is why it's a bad idea to do
your grocery shopping with a grumbling tummy.
In a study published in the
journal JAMA Internal Medicine, participants who hadn't eaten all afternoon
chose more high-calorie foods in a simulated supermarket than those who were
given a snack beforehand. This was especially true in the hours leading up to
dinnertime.
Try to schedule grocery runs
early in the day, and try one of my favorite snacks under 100 calories before
you head out the door.
5. Make a list before clipping
coupons.
The weekly circular may help trim
a few dollars from your bill, but it could also add a few pounds to your frame,
a recent study suggests.
The study, printed in the journal
Preventing Chronic Disease, looked at more than 1,000 online coupons offered by
six major grocery chains and found most of them were for processed food snacks
and prepared meals. In contrast, only 3 percent of coupons provided savings on
fresh, frozen or canned produce; and a tiny one percent trimmed the price of
unprocessed meats.
Don't be swayed by deals on
unhealthy items, and check out apps like Grocery IQ that will scan your
(hopefully health-conscious) grocery list and zip code for relevant savings you
can then print out.
Courtesy of: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-zinczenko/groceries-health_b_5588919.html?utm_hp_ref=diet-and-nutrition
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