![Appetite: what if we took our meals in front of a mirror!](https://img.passeportsante.net/1000x526/2017-06-12/i77070-appetit-et-si-on-prenait-ses-repas-devant-un-miroir.jpg)
June 12, 2017.
According to a study conducted by a team of researchers from Nagoya University in Japan, eating in front of a mirror would help restore your appetite. Explanations.
Eating alone leads to loss of appetite
Lack of appetite is the lot of many elderly people, which end up putting their health at risk. To remedy this problem, Japanese researchers propose, in a study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, of make these people with loss of appetite eat in front of a mirror. Loneliness would indeed be the cause of this lack of appetite and the mirror would make this loneliness less overwhelming.
We know that the meal is a convivial moment and that the food is more attractive when you are not alone to taste it. This is why the authors of this work sought to understand if the presence of a third party was essential to regain appetite, or if a simple mirror could suffice. For this, they asked a group of old people but also young adults to eat popcorn, with and without a mirror.
An appetite stimulated by a simple mirror
They were able to see that people who had a mirror in front of them found it better and ate more than those who did not have a mirror. The researchers also observed that this appetite could be stimulated with a video of meals that we watch on the Internet. A very interesting phenomenon, which must however be evaluated on a larger scale and over the long term.
” Studies have shown that older people who have an appetite also have a better quality of life, and that eating alone was associated with a greater risk of depression and loss of appetite », Said Professor Noboyuki Kawai, co-author of the work. This line of research could therefore lead to new work on the subject and concrete solutions for seniors.
Marine Rondot
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