研究:廚房越亂 吃得越多

Turns out, you're not just what you eat—you're also where you eat.

研究證明，不僅你“吃的是什麼”很重要，你“在哪兒吃的”也很重要。

Researchers from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab found that study participants snacked on double the number of calories when standing in a messy kitchen compared to when they stood in an orderly one.

康奈爾大學食物與品牌實驗室的研究人員發現，當人身處髒亂的廚房中，他們攝入的熱量是身處整潔廚房時的兩倍。

The researchers had 98 women spend 10 minutes in a kitchen, under the guise of asking them to wait for someone. Half of the participants stood in a cluttered kitchen, which was scattered with piles of newspapers and dirty dishes and had a ringing phone. The other half of the women waited in an organized kitchen.

研究人員邀請了98位女性參與實驗，假裝請她們在廚房中等人，待上10分鐘。其中，一半等在髒亂的廚房中，四下散落着報紙與髒盤子，外加一部瘋狂作響的電話。另一半則在一間井井有條的廚房中等候。

Both kitchens contained bowls of crackers, cookies and carrots, laid out for the participants to munch on. Each woman in the chaotic environment ate twice as many cookies—a total of 53 more calories—compared to those in the clean kitchen.

當然，兩間廚房中均擺着一盤盤餅乾、曲奇與胡蘿蔔，供實驗對象享用。結果發現，身處髒亂廚房的女士比整潔廚房中的多吃了一倍曲奇，多攝入了整整53卡路里。

Why did this happen?

這究竟是怎麼回事呢？

"Being in a chaotic environment and feeling out of control is bad for diets," psychology professor and study author Lenny Vartanian said in a statement. "It seems to lead people to think, 'Everything else is out of control, so why shouldn't I be?'"

實驗報告作者、心理學教授萊尼·瓦塔尼安表示：“身處雜亂的環境中，人容易失去自控力，因而不利於健康飲食。人們會覺得：'反正都亂作一團了，我幹嗎不也放縱一下自己呢？'”

Vartanian said he suspects the same behavior would be true for men, but he'd need to confirm it with research.

瓦塔尼安認爲，男性在此實驗中也會表現出類似的行爲，不過這還有待證實。

While the study's sample size was small, the findings emphasize something we know all too well: Stress is bad for you. Stress often causes people to overeat, as cortisol, the stress hormone, can trigger an increase in appetite. Beyond weight gain, too much stress can also increase a person's heart rate, decrease sex drive and lead to painful conditions like headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers.

儘管該研究樣本很小，但結果卻強調了我們不得不承認的一個事實：焦慮傷身。壓力常常會導致人們暴飲暴食，因爲人體內的皮質醇（壓力荷爾蒙）能增強食慾。壓力大不僅會使你體重增加，還可能引發心率升高、性慾低迷、頭痛腹瀉、潰瘍等不良反應。

While there are many ways to manage stress, including meditation, exercise and therapy, this particular study underscores the fact that there are easy and quick things you can do to find calm. The next time you procrastinate tidying up the kitchen, remember that the exercise will benefit you in so many ways. Plus, less clutter decreases the chances of unwanted, four-legged kitchen visitors coming around.

當然，紓解壓力的方法數不勝數，比如冥想、運動、理療等。不過，該研究也表明，舒緩身心可從身邊的小事做起，簡簡單單，成效迅速。下回當你面對“滿廚瘡痍”，不幸又犯拖延症時，不妨告訴自己，打掃廚房，好處多多。另外，把屋子打掃得乾乾淨淨，也不怕“小強”造訪啦。