The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Jan]

Well here's the latest:

According to a study published by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists now say they have successfully manipulated individual's minds to help them lose weight.

The subjects minds were manipulated to believe that certain foods made them ill as children and conversly that certain foods were their childhood favorites.

Participants were asked to fill out a food " experience and preference" survey. Included in the survey were questions envolving strawberry ice cream and asparagus.

Subjects were led to believe that the food preference survey indicated that they were made ill by strawberry ice cream as a child and asparagus was their favorite food.

Twenty percent of people who were so instructed agreed that they indeed had been sickened by strawberry ice cream and intented to avoid it in the future. And of course they would love asparagus.

Putting aside the issue of ethics and the fact that the psychologists were lying, it gives us an interesting perspetive of the human mind. Given the power of suggestion no wonder fast food is so highly advertised and we have to avoid television commercials. Perhaps if we would just concentrate on the wonders of veggies we would crave them

jan

[Nancy]

Yep, I think you've just made the discovery of the century, Jan!

TV Commercials make ya fat!

No TV for Leopard Woman!

When we first began on our Take Shape For Life Program in July 2002, we were shocked at how many food-oriented commercials were shown. I stopped watching TV about that time except for Survivor - their daily fair was not an enticement for me. If I ever happen to watch TV, I leave the room and do chores during the commercials or fast-forward. When we go to movies, we arrive just before the movie begins so we don't have to smell the aroma of popcorn any longer than necessary! I take a bottle of water with me and chew gum or have a Chocolate Divine Bar...

[AlexisClaire]

Okay now, easy there, I wouldn't say the psychiatrists were stepping over any ethics line. People signed up to be in an experiment and that kind of manipulation is part of the deal, they wouldn't have done it if it hurt anyone and I'm sure they were all explained to what had happened after the results were in.
HOWEVER
Some so-called advertising geniuses should be locked up for smut-peddling the kind of stuff they want kids to take to school for lunch! I did see a McDonald's commercial yesterday that had Ronald McDonald actually talking to kids about going outside and getting exercise! He even led them in a (very short) series of stretches. McDonalds led our country into this obesity crisis, I suppose it's only fitting they should try to lead us out.

[Jan]

Hi Alexis,
The ethical issue is a far broader one than just this study on eating habits. In fact, this study is rather benign and interesting but points out how we can be deceived by the power of suggestion. I too, assume that in this case the individules involved were at some time told they were test subjects. I thought it was a rather funny study and of course was suggesting in jest that we could just decide that all the wonderful things that we love, but are so bad for us, made us sick as children and thus we would stay out of them
However, there are other incidents which involve an individual being convinced that something occured in their life - be it during childhood or otherwise. In these cases the occurences are assumed to be fact. Sometimes these things did in fact occur but in other cases they did not. At times the individuals were convinced by "well meaning" professionals. The true issue is: it is ethical to delve into a person's mind to convince them that something happened to them at an earlier date? Especially if these delvings are considered factual. It seems people in this situation are unable to distinguish truth from untruth as we saw in the "stawberry ice cream" study. Unfortunately in some cases the suggestions have proven to be very disastrous for the individuals involved. Thus the ethical question.
jan

[AlexisClaire]

Jan
I thought you were specifically talking about how inethical it was for the scientists to make people think they liked Asparagus and didn't like ice cream. Without experiments in controlled situations like that we'd never know the true power of suggestion. I know what you mean though, look how many children have been convinced by family services, or policemen, that their parents were abusive when they weren't. Or how many people give eyewitness testimony completely opposite of what they actually saw. I don't think convincing someone that ice cream made them sick as a kid is too much of a price to pay to be able to keep people out (or put them in) jail, or to understand how easy it is for everyday people to be manipulated without even knowing it.
In my oppinion a willing test subject is just that. It's not like psychiatrists and scientists are sneaking through the allyways at night in long, dark cloaks, snatching people off sidewalks and forcing them to fill out detailed questionaires about their feelings. I mean, a lot of them are just college students looking for extra credit who are just as interested in what they'll find out as the researchers are. The really scarry stuff is JUST like you said, commercials, "well meaning individuals"!!
"Kid tested, mother approved!"
"The cooool snack!"
"Hungry? Grab a snickers"
over and over and over and it sticks in your mind no matter what you do and the next thing ya know, you're stuck somewhere, stomach growling, looking at a vending machine with change in your hand. Do you get the granola bar? The yogurt pretzels? NO you grab the SNICKERS BAR! Caramel and chocolate?! Oy VEY! Everyone in this country wonders why we're the fattest in the world but is that going to stop advertising companies? Is the FCC gonna step in? Of course not. It's up to us to be stronger than our subconscious impulses- a none too easy task I'm sure we can all agree.
Watch Supersize Me, the part about the school cafeteria is just ridiculous!

[Nancy]

Yup!

Bingo!

That's why our Take Shape For Life Programs and Medifast products are so wonderful - we are nutritional intervention, the nutritional therapy for combating the eating problems we face today.

Watching commercials for me is like mind control...like that little "It's a Small World after all, it's a small world..." the never-ending song that takes over our conscious-and sub-consciousness…

Help! the annoying song is back!