Louisiana Study Links Soft Music to a Healthier Diet

I know my head has several holes in it. Through my many decades on the planet, I have been fortunate enough to learn what each of those orifices is supposed to do in order to sustain my good health. I have never made the connection between what I eat and what I hear until now.

Professor Courtney Szocs, a marketing professor at LSU, has been investigating the link between what we hear and what we choose to eat. To me, these findings are pretty astounding.

Professor Szocs has co-authored a paper in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science on the topic. The study seems to suggest that music and the volume of that music play a part in our food choices.

The study showed that people exposed to softer or lower volume music tended to make food choices that were more healthy. The reason is that music played at a low volume is very soothing. When we are relaxed we tend to make choices that are more thoughtful.

The bad news is the transverse appears to be true too. In other words, if you're in a high noise environment with louder music you might be more inclined to choose higher-calorie or less healthy foods. Think about what you eat at a festival or carnival versus what you might choose to eat in a nicer restaurant.

So, if you're wanting to improve your health, your diet, and your eating habits, make sure that you are soothed and sustained before you make your mealtime decisions. And if you really want to lose weight you can put on the Macarena, that song makes me totally lose my appetite every time I hear it.