Effect of movie violence on mood, stress, appetite perception and food preferences in a random population

Exposure to Instagram junk food content negatively impacts mood and cravings in young adults: A randomized controlled trial

Exposure to different types of images on social media is known to affect physical and mental wellbeing including changes in perception of body image (BI) and dietary behavior. The present study aimed to assess the effects of junk food-related Instagram content exposure on body image, overall mood, and cravings in young adults. A randomized crossover experimental design was used. After filling out a baseline survey, participants (n = 63, aged 18-24) browsed either a control Instagram account feed or an account rich in junk food images during 15 min. They then filled a short survey evaluating their state BI, mood, and cravings (T1). After a 1-week washout period (T2), participants browsed the other account type followed by the same short survey as in T1. Results showed that exposure to junk food content was associated with increased feelings of hunger, stress, sadness, and exhaustion, in addition to higher salty, savory, and fatty food cravings. Moreover, participants showed higher desire for junk food and lower desire for healthy food items from a virtual food tray after junk food content exposure. There was no impact of content type on state BI dissatisfaction. In conclusion, exposure to junk-food related content on social media negatively affects mood and cravings, subsequently influencing food choices. The present findings shed light on the need for interventions aimed at providing cognitive and emotional competencies for enhancing media literacy and promoting mindful social media use.

Meals and movies: making our microbiota merry

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of festive cinematic diets on the gut microbiota.

DESIGN

Observational (watching films) and creative review. Sadly, we couldn't incorporate any snowball sampling.

SETTING

In front of a television, by a blazing log fire.

PARTICIPANTS

Everyone: you don't need to be on the nice list!

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Microbiota INdex of Comparative Evaluation for Pictorial Infographic Evidence (MINCE PIE) scores (difference between the numbers of microbiota-enhancing and microbiota-detrimental food groups) for foods depicted in twelve festive films.

RESULTS

Most festive films featured meals or foods from a typical Western diet, with high sugar and fat content, with overall negative effects on the microbiota. However, some films promoted options containing fibre, beneficial proteins, or polyphenols. These are gifts under the Christmas tree for our microbiota.

CONCLUSION

Good balance is needed for our microbiota, and consequently our mental health. Many festive films portray a Western diet that can lead to dysbiosis. Through their action on the gut-brain axis and the influence of media on dietary choices, the festive foods consumed in these films (maybe an extra chocolate biscuit during Love Actually) can be stressful for our microbiota.

Between Pleasure and Pain: A Pilot Study on the Biological Mechanisms Associated With BDSM Interactions in Dominants and Submissives

BACKGROUND

BDSM is an abbreviation used to reference the concepts of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism, and masochism, enacted by power exchanges between consensual partners.

AIM

To shed light upon the rewarding biological mechanisms associated with BDSM interactions.

METHODS

A group of 35 BDSM couples (dominant and submissive counterparts) were recruited and tested during a BDSM interaction, with an additional control group of 27 non-BDSM interested people tested in a normal social interaction.

OUTCOMES

We compared the evolution of the stress and reward hormone levels of cortisol, beta-endorphins, and endocannabinoids (2AG and anandamide) in a group of BDSM practitioners before and after an active BDSM interaction with the levels in control individuals.

RESULTS

We showed that submissives showed increases in cortisol and endocannabinoid levels due to the BDSM interaction, with dominants only showing increased endocannabinoid levels when the BDSM interaction was associated with power play.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study effectively provides a link between behavior that many think of as aberrant on one hand, and biological pleasure experience on the other, in the hope that it may relieve some of the stigma these practitioners still endure.

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS

It is one of the first and largest studies of its kind, but is still limited in sample size and only represents a specific population of Flemish BDSM practitioners.

CONCLUSION

Even though this is one of the first studies of its kind, we can conclude that there is a clear indication for increased pleasure in submissives when looking at biological effects of a BDSM interaction, which was related to the increases in experienced stress. Wuyts E, De Neef N, Coppens V, et al. Between Pleasure and Pain: A Pilot Study on the Biological Mechanisms Associated With BDSM Interactions in Dominants and Submissives. J Sex Med 2020;17:784-792.

Movie violence acutely affects food choices in young adults

BACKGROUND

Extensive research has been conducted to investigate the effects of media violence on attitudes, behaviors, and cardiovascular health; however, only few studies have examined its effect on appetite, eating behavior and food preferences. Little attention has been given to understand how movie genre manipulates the physiology and the eating behavior of individuals. The present study aimed at investigating the acute effect of violence content in movies on appetite perception, heart rate and blood pressure, along with food preferences and intake in young individuals.

METHODS

Participants (n = 84) were randomly assigned to either watch a violent movie or a non-violent narrative movie. Measurements including anthropometry, heart rate, blood pressure and grip strength were taken and appetite as well as stress perception were assessed. Subjects were then provided with an individual snack tray containing various items to be consumed ad libitum.

RESULTS

Post intervention, the experimental group (EG) had a higher consumption of fatty (t (82) = 2.28, p = 0.025, d = 1.52) and salty (t (82) = 2.61, p = 0.01, d = 0.71) food items compared to the control group (CG). Out of the 42 participants in the EG 62% consumed >2 fatty items and 71.4% consumed >2 salty food items. No significant difference in the consumption of sugary items was observed between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Movie violence affects eating behavior and may promote weight gain.

When exercise does not pay: Counterproductive effects of impending exercise on energy intake among restrained eaters

Evidence suggests people may overestimate the effectiveness of future positive behaviour, leading to counterproductive behaviours in the present. Applied to weight-management, we hypothesize that inaccurate expectations about impending exercise may impede weight management by promoting overconsumption prior to exercise. This study aimed to determine how expectations about impending exercise and its potential ability to expend energy may influence i) energy intake before exercise and ii) overall energy balance (energy intake minus energy expended via exercise). Using a randomised, counterbalanced design, 21 inactive, overweight males, following a baseline session, completed two experimental trials: i) ad-libitum snack meal (potato-crisps) followed by an exercise session (SE) and ii) ad-libitum snack meal only (SO). There was no main effect of condition (SE vs. SO) on ad-libitum snack intake (p = .917). However, after accounting for dietary restraint (covariate), a difference in snack intake between SE and SO was revealed (p = .050). Specifically, participants who scored higher in dietary restraint consumed more in the SE (vs. SO) session (162 ± 359 kcal more) compared with participants who scored lower in dietary restraint (89 ± 135 kcal less). Among restrained eaters, the relative (net) energy consumed after accounting for energy expended from exercise in SE was not different from the energy consumed in the SO condition, suggesting that energy expended via exercise in SE does not appear to negate extra energy consumed in this condition compared with SO. Of interest, desire to eat and prospective food consumption ratings at the start of the trial were greater (p ≤ .029) in SE compared with SO. Findings suggest that restrained-eaters are at risk of adopting compensatory eating behaviour that may impede negative energy balance typically resulting from exercise (i.e. expending insufficient energy to negate compensatory energy intake).

Association between overweight/obesity and eating habits while watching television among primary-school children in the city of Shiraz, Iran

OBJECTIVE

It has been reported that television (TV) viewing is associated with childhood obesity in Western countries. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between obesity and eating habits while watching TV among primary-school children in the Middle East.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Children were recruited from primary schools of four educational districts in Shiraz, Iran. Anthropometric indices of mass (kg) and height (m) were measured, and BMI (percentile) was calculated. Demographic characteristics, TV viewing behaviours and physical activity data were collected from parents during face-to-face interviews and a 3d dietary record was completed. Subject Children (n 607) aged 6-10 years.

RESULTS

Mean (sd) age of children was 8·16 (1·37) years, of whom 9·1 and 8·4 % were overweight and obese, respectively. Children who spent ≥2 h watching TV on weekdays (OR=1·99; 95 % CI 1·09, 3·60) and weekend days (OR=1·86; 95 % CI 1·01, 3·43) had higher odds of being obese, even after adjusting for physical activity. Children who ate breakfast while watching TV had higher odds of being overweight v. those who did not watch TV while eating breakfast (OR=2·70; 95 % CI 1·02, 7·60). There were no associations between TV viewing during other meals (lunch and dinner) and overweight/obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

TV viewing for ≥2 h daily increases the risk of being obese in Iranian children aged 6-10 years, independent of physical activity. Further, breakfast consumption while watching TV may increase the risk of overweight/obesity, independent of total TV viewing time.

The Effect of Acute Stress on Esophageal Motility and Gastroesophageal Reflux in Healthy Humans

Background/Aims

Little research has been done to evaluate the effect of stress in exacerbating the symptoms associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GER). We aimed to investigate the effect of acute stress on esophageal motility and GER parameters in healthy volunteers.

Methods

A total of 10 (M:F = 8:2, median age 34 years-old) healthy volunteers without any recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms participated in this study. They underwent esophageal high-resolution manometry with 10 wet swallows (Experiment I) and esophageal impedance-pH monitoring (Experiment II) in the basal period and in the stress period. In the stress period, either real stress or sham stress was given in a randomized cross-over design. The stress scores, symptom severity, and pulse rates were measured.

Results

The stress scores and the severity of nausea were significantly greater under real stress, compared with sham stress. The percentages of weak, failed, rapid, premature, and hyper-contractile contractions were not significantly altered during real stress and during sham stress, compared with the basal period. The median resting pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter and distal contractile integral of esophageal contractions did not differ in the stress period, compared with the basal period. Contractile front velocity and distal latency of esophageal peristaltic contractions were significantly changed during real stress, which was not observed during sham stress. GER parameters were not significantly altered during real stress and during sham stress.

Conclusion

Although acute auditory and visual stress seems to affect esophageal body motility, it does not induce significant motor abnormalities or increase GER in healthy humans.