Organic Food can Sabotage Diet and Weight-loss
Written By: PhysOrg.com
Print
Email
Published - Jun 28, 2010
While organic food may contain fewer, if any, pesticides and additives, consumers mistakenly believe it also has fewer calories, say researchers at the University of Michigan.
“As Americans’ waistlines have grown, so has their appetite for organic food,” said Norbert Schwarz, professor of marketing at the U-M Ross School of Business. “Labeling food as ‘organic’ entails a claim about its production, but is silent on its calorie content. Nevertheless, people struggling to cut calories may turn to organics and possibly consume more calories than they otherwise would.”
In an article this month in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, Schwarz and U-M colleague Jonathon Schuldt found that Americans believe that organic food contains fewer calories and is, therefore, more appropriate to eat more often than nonorganic food. This is true even when the nutrition labels for organic and conventional foods list the same amount of calories.