Bad news on TV can make you obese: study

The short answer

Tough economic times can lead people to eat much more than they normally would, a 2013 study from the University of Miami found. Study participants who were shown messages about struggle and adversity ate nearly 40 percent more food than those shown neutral messages — and they disproportionately reached for high-calorie foods. So, to cut down on calories, tune out the bad news, the study authors suggested.

The M&M's experiment

In one experiment, participants were told they were taking part in a taste test for a new kind of M&M's candy. They were told one bowl had M&M's with high-calorie chocolate while the other bowl had low-calorie chocolate. In fact, there was no difference between the candies.

Before the taste test, the participants were shown posters that contained either neutral sentences or sentences about struggle and adversity. Those who saw the struggle-and-adversity posters ate about 70 percent more of the "high-calorie" candy than the "low-calorie" option, while those who saw the neutral posters ate about the same amounts of both types of candy.

Why it happens

The researchers' explanation: messages about tough times subconsciously trigger a survival instinct. When the brain senses scarcity ahead, it urges the body to stockpile energy — and the cheapest, fastest energy is calorie-dense food. The craving is not a failure of willpower; it is an old wiring responding to a perceived threat. The study was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Psychological Science.

The takeaway

If you find yourself raiding the pantry after an evening of grim headlines, you are not weak — you are running ancient software. The practical fix is almost embarrassingly simple: choose what news you consume, and when. Your waistline may thank you for switching off the doom loop before dinner.