Research
Adherence
Thought suppression and cognitive load increase the accessibility and salience of forbidden foods, leading to ironic rebound effects on craving and consumption.
Do not rely on thought suppression to manage cravings. Trying to force yourself not to think about a forbidden food often makes it more salient. Instead, use techniques that interfere with the vividness of food imagery, such as staring at dynamic visual noise, to reduce the intensity of the craving.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Intended thought suppression under mental load makes the suppressed thought more accessible... the opportunity to access chocolate immediately afterwards shows an ironic spill-over (or rebound) into performance and chocolate-reward driven behaviour.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple experimental studies (Johnston et al., Mann & Ward, Soetens & Braet) showing consistent ironic rebound effects.
Source
The psychology of food craving
Andrew J. Hill · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2007
DOI 10.1017/s0029665107005502
narrative_reviewCited 250×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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