(Food-Beverage-News.Com, May 12, 2013 ) Staffordshire, UK -- The latest study from the Texas Christian University noted that there is a direct causal link between the consumption of junk food, working out, and the ability to lose weight. According to the latest study, when one is shown junk food alongside a corresponding workout to lose the weight gained from the food, one tends to choose a diet with less calories and lose weight faster. The converse is true with healthy food. When one is shown nutritional foods along with the workouts they must do to handle weight management, the individual tends to choose junk food instead of healthier food.
The study conducted looked at 300 individuals who were divided into three groups. Each group was given a menu with the same food items on it. The first group had only the healthy food nutritional values noted. The second group saw the calorie levels of each menu item. The third group saw the calorie totals and how many minutes it would take in order to lose the corresponding calories.
The third group was noted as ordering food comprised of 15% less calories than the other groups.
"Brisk walking is something nearly everyone can relate to, which is why we displayed on the menu the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories," said lead researcher Ashlei James, from the Texas Christian University, according to The Daily Mail. "All menus contained the same food and beverage options, which included burgers, chicken sandwiches, salad, fries, desserts, soda, and water."
Senior researcher Dr. Meena Shah agrees.
"We need a more effective strategy to encourage people to order and consume fewer calories from restaurant menus. This study suggests there are benefits to displaying exercise minutes to a group of young men and women," she said. "This is the first study to look at the effects of displaying minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories on the calories ordered and consumed.”
"For example a female would have to walk briskly for approximately two hours to burn the calories in a quarter-pound double cheeseburger. But we can't generalize to a population over age 30, so we will further investigate this in an older and more diverse group," she said.
