FoodT is an app for losing weight created by psychologists from the Universities of Exeter and Cardiff. It trains your brain to avoid unhealthy foods, such as cakes, biscuits and chocolate, achieving painless weight loss and reducing your daily energy intake by more than 200 calories.
A team of psychologists from the Universities of Exeter and Cardiff has demonstrated that using a mobile app for ten minutes a day can reduce cravings for sugary and fatty foods, lowering calorie intake. This is FoodT, an app for losing weight led by Professor Natalia Lawrence. It is available for free on Android devices and on iPhone iOS.
The research is based on neuroscience studies suggesting that people are more inclined to choose fatty and sugary foods because they activate the brain's reward system, stimulating the release of dopamine and endorphins, which can produce feelings of pleasure and make a person want to eat more.
FoodT works by flashing images of healthy and unhealthy foods; you have to react by pressing only on the healthy foods to earn points. The simple act of ignoring unhealthy foods and stimulating the reward response to healthy foods is enough to train the brain toward healthier choices, according to the psychologists behind the app. A study of 83 adults showed that people who played the online game just four times in a week lost weight and ate an average of 220 fewer calories per day, which is roughly equivalent to a chocolate doughnut.
The app will ask you a few questions before and after playing so the research team can see whether it helps you reduce food intake, cravings and weight. You will also be asked for some basic details about yourself (age, sex). All the data you provide will be anonymous. FoodT was developed in association with Psynovigo and funded by the Wellcome Trust and the University of Exeter. It is available for a free download on Android devices and on iPhone iOS. If you don't have an Android device to play and would like to try the app, you can also play it online by clicking here (though it only works on computers with keyboards, not on touchscreens or tablets).
Who knows? Maybe it works!
FoodT
