title: Episodic future thinking reduces eating in a food court.
abstract: Episodic future thinking (EFT) is the psychological process of vividly imagining a future event, and this process has been shown to reduce overeating in the laboratory. To assess the efficacy of EFT in the natural environment, twenty-nine overweight or obese women who wanted to improve their eating habits were randomly assigned to one of two smartphone-implemented interventions--EFT or control episodic recent thinking (ERT)--while they ate dinner in a public food court. Results showed a reduction in consumption of total calories, a reduction in percent calories from fat, and an increase in percent calories from protein for EFT versus ERT. These data suggest EFT may be used to modify eating habits in natural eating environments, and may show potential as a component of behavioral obesity interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Farber Hall, Room G56, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, United States; Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions, Kimball Tower, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, United States. Electronic address: jloneill@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Farber Hall, Room G56, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, United States. Electronic address: toluyomi@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Tinuke Oluyomi
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Farber Hall, Room G56, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, United States. Electronic address: LHENET@acsu.buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Leonard H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Epstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003463:Cues; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology; D012147:Restaurants; D013850:Thinking
keywords: Eating; Episodic future thinking