Recommendable book to boost your willpower: The Willpower Instinct of Kelly McGonigal

The best way to make sure you never again give in to temptation (such as eating another chocolate) is to beat yourself up, so that you will never do it again. Quite logical, isn't it? However, it turns out that this is not such a clever way to motivate yourself, because if you feel guilty, this negative feeling is most likely to disappear by eating more. As a result, cheating a little may lead to the infamous 'what the hell effect'.


This is one of the many self-control undermining processes discussed in the book 'The Willpower Instinct' of Kelly McGonigal. Recently, it has been translated into Dutch ('De kracht van wilskracht - Hoe zelfbeheersing werkt en wat je eraan kan doen').

Willpower is one of the hottest topics in research and studied in a diverse range of fields. This book clearly explains the science behind willpower, how it functions and what key problems are. Moreover, informed by numerous studies, the author offers useful strategies to deal with tempation in daily life. After reading this book, it is obvious that willpower is much more than a simple 'just do it' strength that you need to finish your 'to do'-list or drop a few pounds of overweight.

What I particularly like are the chapters about the role of dopamine in anticipation of rewards. When you expect, see or eat food, the brain releases dopamine and gets excited. You can override this automatic system by using your prefrontal cortex in the front of your brain, which is responsibe for more reflective and conscious decisions. Indeed, that is where willpower is located in your head. Unfortunately, this cortex has many things to worry about and gets easily distracted. Small changes or new habits that make you remind your goals and create awarenes such as meditating and exercising will build the foundation for more enduring change. They make your willpower system more efficient and fuelled to do its tasks.

This book is definitely a must-read, also because willpower is not presented as a miracle solution to life's challenges. Yes, you can get more of it, but it has its limits. That reminds me of a sentence I read in a paper of Hofmann, Friese and Wiers (2008): 'Human life would be less pleasurable without our propensity to act impulsively: An over-controlled life can be even psychologically and physically damaging.' So, train your willpower, but give yourself the occasional break.

Can health claims and symbols lead to healthier eating patterns? - CLYMBOL project has started

Last week, we had a kick-off meeting of Clymbol in Brussels. This is an EU-funded project to find out what really happens inside consumer minds regarding health claims and symbols at food packages.

At Wageningen University, we studied this topic before (see earlier posts about nutrition logos and eye tracking research). Now we will particularly focus on the purchase and consumption effects on health and nutrition information at food package.

We keep you updated about new study results!

This is the official press release:

A new EU funded (FP7) project kicks off today aiming to shed light on how consumers interpret health information on food labels, and how this affects their purchasing and consumption behaviour.
CLYMBOL (‘Role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour’) is a four year research project that will provide insights into consumer understanding and behaviour related to health information. Guidelines will be developed to evaluate the effects of health information on food labels.

The issue
Health claims are messages on food packages that state, suggest or imply a relationship between a certain food product (or one of its constituents) and health. ‘Vitamin A helps the proper functioning of the immune system’, is an example. Health symbols are awarded to food products which meet certain nutrient requirements and constitute the healthiest option within a product category (e.g. Choices logo, Swedish Keyhole).

A snack with visible front of pack logo and calorie info

“Health claims and symbols are aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options, but we know little on how they impact consumer behaviour”, says Prof Dr Klaus G. Grunert, partner in, and scientific advisor to, the CLYMBOL project.

The acceptance of food products with health information is influenced by many different factors. Familiarity with the product, health claim or functional ingredient used plus personal relevance appear as the most important determinants. But what is the actual effect of health information on consumer behaviour regarding food choices?

The research
CLYMBOL aims to understand better the effects of health information on purchase and consumption patterns. The CLYMBOL team will create a set of methodologies to measure the role of health claims and symbols in consumer behaviour, drawing on the latest developments in cognitive and behavioural science. The range of studies includes pan-European surveys, experiments in actual supermarkets and analysis of population data. By measuring consumers’ eye movements and reaction times, for example, researchers will be able to observe and analyse subconscious behaviour and link this to actual purchases. CLYMBOL will also develop guidelines directed towards health claims and symbols, taking into account the differences between consumers and EU member states.

The consortium
The CLYMBOL consortium gathers 14 partners from 9 countries who have proven outstanding expertise in various fields: cognitive consumer psychology, economics, marketing, nutrition and public health. A retailer is also part of the group, ensuring that the research can be carried out in real-life settings.

• Aarhus University (Denmark) – Scientific Advisor
• Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon, CITA (Spain)
• Corvinus University Budapest (Hungary)
• European Food Information Council (Belgium) – Coordinator
• Ghent University (Belgium)
• Globus SB-Warenhaus Holding GmbH &Co. KG (Germany)
• Saarland University (Germany)
• Schuttelaar & Partners NV (Netherlands)
• Swedish National Food Agency (Sweden)
• University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
• University of Oxford (UK)
• University of Surrey (UK)
• University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
• Wageningen University (The Netherlands)

Satiety claims on food: consumers expect no magic bullet to weight loss

What would you think when you read a claim such as 'increases fullness''or 'keeps you going between meals' on your favourite box of cereals? Would you simply expect an enhanced feeling of fullness after breakfast or do you think that after repeated consumption it will help you lose weight?

Fictional package with satiety claim

In Europe, satiety claims on food packages are strictly regulated. Before a claim can be put on a package, evidence to substantiate the claim needs to be submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EFSA has two key criteria that have to be met before approval: (1) any claim should not go beyond the demonstrated evidence, and (2) the average consumer must be able to understand the effects expressed in the claim.

But does the 'average' consumer understand a satiety claim? Research on this question is limited. Satiety experts, however, fear overinterpretation of satiety claims, in the sense that consumers infer more health benefits from claims than promised. Some even worry for the 'magic bullet effect' in that consumers expect to lose weight, without any other personal efforts such as restricting calories or exercising.

Together with Ellen van Kleef, David Mela, Toine Hulshof and Hans van Trijp, I conducted a study in which 1504 consumers from Italy, UK, France and Germany were questioned about the meaning of satiety claims. Results of this study are published in the journal 'Appetite'. The paper is called 'Consumer understanding, interpretation and perceived levels of personal responsibility in relation to satiety-related claims'.

We discovered that most consumers very well understand satiety claims and stay close to their literal meaning. There was one exception. Consumers who tend to chronically restrict their eating to avoid becoming fat (the so-called restrained eaters), expected more benefits than actually stated in the claim. 



For various claims, we asked consumers whether they expected that the product will do the work for them or they themselves have to put in some personal efforts as well. The answer depended on the type of claim. 'Feeling full for a longer time' is something that consumers expect a product to deliver. In contrast, consumers realize that losing weight is something that a product cannot do for them. Most consumers know that personal sacrifices are required, with or without a little help of a satiety enhancing food. 


This is a guest post, written by Els Bilman (PhD student).

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Els M. Bilman, Ellen van Kleef, David J. Mela, Toine Hulshof, & Hans C.M. van Trijp (2012). Consumer understanding, interpretation and perceived levels of personal responsibility in relation to satiety-related claims Appetite DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.07.010

BNR Nieuwsradio - Interview over marketing technieken om kinderen meer groente te laten eten

Ouders weten dat het lastig is om kinderen te motiveren om meer groenten en fruit te eten. Recent onderzoek van Brian Wansink en collega's laat zien dat het geven van 'catchy' namen aan groenten, zoals Power Brocolli, kinderen meer laat eten.

Vanochtend werd ik geinterviewd door Humberto Tan van BNR Nieuwsradio over het gebruik van marketingtechnieken om kinderen aan de groente te krijgen.

Luister hier het fragment:

BNR Nieuwsradio - Kinderen eten twee keer zoveel groente als het een coole naam heeft