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07 January 2015 - MNT - After the new year, shoppers make healthier purchases but don't cut the regular less-healthy ones

Despite New Year's resolutions to eat healthier, people tend to hang on to those unhealthy holiday favorites and keep buying them in the New Year.

Web URL: Read the full news item on the MNT website here

FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:

Please find the OPEN ACCESS research here: 

Pope et al., 2014 - New Year's Res-Illusions: Food Shopping in the New Year Competes with Healthy Intentions.

First, the researchers found that shoppers spend 15% more on food during the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Year's) and only about 25% of that additional food is healthy. This means that during the holidays we tend to buy more junk food--not a big surprise. "What was surprising, was the second finding of the study" says lead author Lizzy Pope, who led the study as a post-doctoral student at Cornell, and recently joined the University of Vermont's Dept. of Nutrition and Food Sciences, "After the New Year, shoppers continued to purchase a greater amount of food and while more healthy food did make it into their carts, they continued to buy the less-healthy items too!"

After the New Year, shoppers actually took home 9% more calories than they did during the holidays!

"Despite New Year's resolutions to eat healthier, people tend to hang on to those unhealthy holiday favorites and keep buying them in the New Year," says co-author Drew Hanks, Ohio State University.

"What we recommend based on these findings is instead of just adding healthy foods to your cart, substitute the less healthy foods for fresh produce and other nutrient rich foods--the calories will add up slower and you'll be more likely to meet your resolutions and shed those unwanted pounds."

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