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Many people who see the term ‘organic’ also think that it means ‘low-calorie,’ according to new research in the journal Judgment and Decision Making.
(Just so we’re clear: it doesn’t.)
In the study, people were more likely to assume that organic cookies contained fewer calories than the conventionally-processed kind—even though the labels specifically stated that both food items contained an equal number of calories.
Then the scientists asked another group of people the following question: When is it okay for a person to skip a workout—when that person had eaten a healthy dinner with a conventional dessert, organic dessert or no dessert?
Surprisingly, more people said that it was okay to skip a gym session if they ate organic dessert, rather than either a conventional one or none at all.
So what accounts for this misconception? The researchers suspect that it’s due to the overgeneralization of health claims.
There is a strong association between organic and healthy and healthy and low-calorie, they explain.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go organic though. In fact, going organic can change the world—just be sure you don’t consume any more food than you normally eat.
(Just so we’re clear: it doesn’t.)
In the study, people were more likely to assume that organic cookies contained fewer calories than the conventionally-processed kind—even though the labels specifically stated that both food items contained an equal number of calories.
Then the scientists asked another group of people the following question: When is it okay for a person to skip a workout—when that person had eaten a healthy dinner with a conventional dessert, organic dessert or no dessert?
Surprisingly, more people said that it was okay to skip a gym session if they ate organic dessert, rather than either a conventional one or none at all.
So what accounts for this misconception? The researchers suspect that it’s due to the overgeneralization of health claims.
There is a strong association between organic and healthy and healthy and low-calorie, they explain.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go organic though. In fact, going organic can change the world—just be sure you don’t consume any more food than you normally eat.