Fantasy food aids slimming

Fantasising about eating your favourite food really can help you slim. Scientists have found that thinking of a delicious meal reduces desire for it.

The trick is to visualise gorging non-stop on the food, rather than conjuring up an appetite-whetting single image.

This feeds into natural mechanisms that control consumption and prevent over-indulgence, say the researchers.

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Study leader Dr Carey Morewedge, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said trying to suppress thoughts of desired foods to curb cravings was a "flawed strategy".

"Our studies found that instead, people who repeatedly imagined the consumption of food consumed less than people who performed a different task."