Adherence
Higher time discounting (a preference for immediate rewards over delayed benefits) is positively associated with unhealthy diets, overweight, and obesity.
If you find yourself choosing unhealthy food despite wanting to be healthy, it may not just be a lack of willpower. Your brain might be 'discounting' the future health benefits too heavily in favor of immediate taste. To counter this, make healthy choices easier and more immediate (e.g., pre-prepared meals) and make unhealthy choices harder to access.
Overall, there is moderate evidence that high time discounting is a significant risk factor for unhealthy diets, overweight and obesity and may serve as an important target for intervention.
Why this rating
The review finds 'moderate evidence' based on 41 studies, but notes methodological heterogeneity and a lack of high-quality longitudinal/experimental designs.
Source
Unhealthy diets, obesity and time discounting: a systematic literature review and network analysis
Pepita Barlow et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2016
DOI 10.1111/obr.12431
More from this paper
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →