Journal Publications

In 1 Bite: What’s Open Science, and why is it important for health psychology? Learn about how it helps transparency, integrity, and reproducibility of research.

In 1 Bite: This paper reviews why people are skeptical of lab-grown meat and suggests ways to boost consumer acceptance.

In 1 Bite: We found that diets low in salt and high in fruits and veggies might benefit people’s mental health, but more studies are needed.

In 1 Bite: Socially disadvantaged adult men were more likely to have depressive and anxiety symptoms if they experienced traumatic events during childhood, particularly childhood sexual abuse.

In 1 Bite: Veganism can seem to threaten familiar customs and traditions (e.g., eating turkey on Thanksgiving), and this perception of threat may motivate meat-eaters to reject vegan food and believe that it tastes bad.

In 1 Bite: Across 20 years and more than 45,000 participants, we found that Body Mass Index isn’t as strongly related to diabetes in Black people as it is in white people.

In 1 Bite: Do racial stereotypes influence the likelihood of becoming vegetarian? Findings from four studies indicate that they might!

In 1 Bite: We found Black girls’ satisfaction with their skin color predicted Binge Eating Disorder symptoms. Body satisfaction seems to underlie the relationship.

In 1 Bite: A team of 50+ researchers reflect on the future of psychology research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. What new questions will we be asking and how will we approach conducting research?

In 1 Bite: Socially disadvantaged adult men were more likely to use drugs if they experienced things in childhood like a family member in jail or violence. However, social support was protectful.

In 1 Bite: Maternal stressors in pregnancy (particularly financial ones) were associated with shorter telomeres (indicating faster aging) in kids of white but not Black moms.

In 1 Bite: For low-income Black and Latinx adults, eating unhealthy comfort food worked just as well as eating a fruit/veggie or hanging out for 5 minutes for stress relief. Next time you’re feeling stressed, try reaching for something healthy!

In 1 Bite: This field experiment found that menu items at a restaurant were 24% more likely to sell when they were called “vegetarian” or “vegan” than when they were called “plant based.”

In 1 Bite: This series of studies found that vegetarianism is stereotypically associated with Whiteness. This stereotype may make vegetarians feel less inclusive to people of color.

In 1 Bite: This study found that family & friends are a source of weight stigma by making judgemental comments about weight & body changes during pregnancy.

In 1 Bite: This study found that 35% of meat-eaters and 55% of vegetarians think cultured meat is too disgusting to try eating, mainly because cultured meat seems unnatural.

In 1 Bite: This study found that when unvaccinated people feel like they’re being labeled as immoral, they’re more likely to refuse to ever get vaccinated in the future.

In 1 Bite: This study found that eating highly processed foods changes your emotions now and up to 1 hour after intake. This helps explain why highly processed foods are rewarding to us!

In 1 Bite: Collecting cortisol data has always been expensive, imprecise, and time consuming. Here, we present a wearable wrist device that measures cortisol from sweat – in real time!

In 1 Bite: This review questions the idea that victims of sexual abuse may develop eating disorders as a “protective measure” against future abuse by through putting on weight.

In 1 Bite: This pilot study found a potential link between adverse childhood experiences (also known as ACES) and internalization of weight stigma in women.

In 1 Bite: This study found that girls who experienced abuse in early life had more advanced pubertal development at age 10.

In 1 Bite: In this study, we repeatedly paired fruit with a relaxing activity. Then we found that just eating the fruit decreased negative mood!

In 1 Bite: This study found that people who wanted to be thinner in childhood also wanted to be thinner in adulthood, but they ended up weighing more.

In 1 Bite: This study found that parents of children with higher weight were rated more negatively than parents of children of average weight.

In 1 Bite: This study found that a dissonance-based internet intervention decreased reward-based eating drive.

In 1 Bite: In this paper, Ben and Dr. T review the overlap between eating and memory and argue that memory evolved to help animals find food.

In 1 Bite: This study found that postpartum women who experienced more weight stigma were at more risk of developing diabetes during their pregnancy.

In 1 Bite: Through five experiments conducted through the pandemic, Daniel and Dr. T found that people in the U.S. — especially liberals — morally condemned social distancing violations because they seemed highly harmful and impure.

In 1 Bite: In this study, Daniel and Dr. T found that conforming more strongly to traditional gender roles predicted greater meat consumption and lower openness to vegetarianism among men, but didn’t predict these outcomes at all among women.

In 1 Bite: Daniel and Dr. T outline probable psychological implications of COVID-19. They discuss the considerations these impacts have for theory, methodology, and meta-scientific issues.

In 1 Bite: In a national sample, Kristen, Jeff, and Dr. T found that 42% of Americans have dealt with weight stigma. And the more weight stigma people reported, the more disordered eating, comfort eating, alcohol use, and sleep disturbance they had.

In 1 Bite: Many people who try plant-based diets show low adherence. In this study, Daniel and Dr. T found that people who value a pro-environmental lifestyle are more likely to adhere strictly to a plant-based diet when they try one out.

In 1 Bite: Here we find the act of eating is better remembered than similar behaviors that do not involve eating and that higher calorie foods and foods eaten slowly are better remembered than lower calorie foods or foods eaten quickly. Understanding what influences memory of eating is important because enhanced memory of eating has been shown to reduce subsequent snacking and hunger.

In 1 Bite: This study rested whether social exclusion by female peers influences women’s hormone levels. Results showed that when women lacked social support in their everyday lives, being socialy excluded led to elevated progesterone levels prior to ovulation, which is consistent with a reduced capacity to conceive.

In 1 Bite: Could the COVID-19 pandemic have changed people’s social attitudes? In the study, Daniel and Dr. T found that U.S. adults reported identifying with and supporting traditional gender roles more strongly during the pandemic than they did before the pandemic.

In 1 Bite: In this paper, Daniel and Dr. T examine the psychology of flexitarians– people who limit their meat intake partially, but still include meat in their diet. Findings suggest that, unique from what dietary motivations they have, how flexitarians construct social identity around their diet predict how open they are to becoming fully vegetarian.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T and colleagues discuss how scientists can help improve public opinion of cultured meat.

In 1 Bite: We found that pregnant and postpartum women experience weight stigma regardless of their BMI prior to pregnancy. We also found that the weight stigma in pregnant and postpartum women face comes from multiple sources.

In 1 Bite: We challenge commonly held assumptions about the influence of weight and weight loss on health and advocate for more weight-inclusive health policies.

In 1 Bite: “Flexitarians,” people who limit their meat consumption but still eat meat sometimes, may or may not identify as vegetarian.

In 1 Bite: The media plays a large role in daily life, so Angela and Dr. T looked into what weight stigma pregnant/postpartum women face. The results showed that pregnant and postpartum women commonly experience weight stigma via pressure to uphold beauty standards.

In 1 Bite: Pregnant women visit the doctor a lot, so Angela and Dr. T looked into what kinds of weight stigma exists in maternal healthcare. Findings suggest that many women, nearly 1 in 5, experience weight stigma from healthcare providers and often face evaluative and negative comments about their weight.

In 1 Bite: Aloholics Anonymous suggests that people eat sweets to allay the urge to drink. Result from this experiment, however, show that individuals with at-risk drinking who ate 150 or 450 calories of sweets (compared to those who did not) failed to have lower alcohol cravings.

In 1 Bite: Qualitative evidence suggests that meat-eaters may resist going vegetarian out of fear of feeling stigmatized. This study by Daniel and Dr. T., however, suggests that anticipated vegetarian stigma is not a probable barrier to giving up meat.

In 1 Bite: In this systematic review, we found that how alcohol use affects diet is not as simple as you might think. At low doses, alcohol has increased fat and protein intake. At high doses, however, alcohol has decreased refined carbohydrate intake.

In 1 Bite: In this study, Daniel and Dr. T found that about half of vegetarians have eaten meat since going vegetarian. Results suggest that vegetarians are most likely to eat meat for social reasons while at family gatherings or on special occasions (e.g., weddings, holidays).

In 1 Bite: Do pregnant and postpartum women experience weight stigma? The answer is yes! In this paper, Angela and Dr. T describe for whom, from whom, and how often pregnancy-related weight stigma occurs.

In 1 Bite: Might Music, art, or romance alleviate the need to turn to highly processed foods for pleasure? Unfortunately, results from this study suggest that experiencing pleasure from alternate sources encourages highly processed food intake.

In 1 Bite: What kinds of news media messages about obesity promote weight stigma, and what kinds don’t? Dr. T answers this question with UCLA’s own Abigail Saguy (Sociology).

In 1 Bite: In another investigation of pregnancy-related weight stigma, Angela and Dr. T find that pregnant and postpartum women’s experiences of weight stigma are associated with depression, stress, unhealthy eating behavior and weight retention.

In 1 Bite: Suppose someone eats meat only a few times per month: How inclined might they be to self-identify as vegetarian? In this sstudy, Daniel and Dr. T found that meat-reducers vary greatly in how strongly they identify with vegetarianism, and that more of this variance is explained by meat-reducers’ moral ideologies than by their dietary behaviors.

In 1 Bite: In study 1, Daniel and Dr. T examined differences between pescatarians and vegetarians (who don’t eat fish), with regards to dietary motivation, health attitudes, and attitudes toward animals. Study 2 examined identity aspects of pescetarianism.

In 1 Bite: Feeling stressed? Grab your favorite fruit or veggie! This study showed that women’s psychological and physiological stress responses were the same regardless of whether they ate healthy comfort foods or traditional comfort foods high in calories, fat, or sugar.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T and colleagues have come out with a shorter 5-item version of their questionnaire to measure reward-related eating.

In 1 Bite: In one of the first investigations of weight stigma in the context of pregnancy, Angela and Dr. T found that experiencing weight stigma during pregnancy was associated with postpartum depression and retention of baby weight.

In 1 Bite: Jenna & Dr. T found that when young adults thought they were eating a high- versus low-calorie milkshake with their friend they felt closer with that friend. This was especially true for dieters.

In 1 Bite: Stress and obesity – how are they linked? In this review, Dr. T traces all the pathways that tie the two, including how obesity itself can be stressful by inducing weight stigma.

In 1 Bite: Research from 1991 found that heavier students may have a harder time paying for college. Is that still the case? Angela, Megan, and Erin updated these findings.

In 1 Bite: Jenna & Dr. T teamed up with Dr. Lara Ray to test whether a medication that may reduce alcohol use might also affect eating. They found that the medication did not suppress food craving but increased high-fat/high-sugar food craving when individuals were stressed.

In 1 Bite: We know that being told you’re “too fat” is associated with weight gain over time. In this study, Jeff and Dr. T examined whether being told this might also increase disordered eating over time.

In 1 Bite: In a replication of Angela’s study, this paper shows that fat suits lead to snack eating in women but not men. The reasons for that, though, are still unclear.

See also this pre-print where we didn’t find any effect of fat suits on alcohol consumption with eating, and also click here for meta-analysis estimates and a forest plot that combines all fat suit data. It seems that wearing a fat suit has a small-to-medium effect (SMD = 0.27) on eating.

In 1 Bite: Targeting a healthcare audience, Dr. T and a team of leading weight stigma researchers review the harmful aspects of weight stigma.

In 1 Bite: Does comfort eating predict an earlier death? Jenna, Janet, and collaborators Eli and Ashley found that older adults who comfort ate actually had lower odds of mortality.

In 1 Bite: Jenna & Dr. T review prior work suggesting that if you quit drinking alcohol you may eat more, and, reciprocally, if you diet you might drink more. They also developed a model for future research.

In 1 Bite: We address concerns regarding our study which tested the use of fat suits as a potential way to help decrease anti-fat attitudes.

In 1 Bite: In this paper, Drs. Alcalá, T and von Ehrenstein find that childhood adversities are associated with cancer risk. However, women seem to be disproportionately affected.

In 1 Bite: Standing desks may reduce sedentary behavior, but are they conducive for work? Laura, Janet, and Andrew look at effects on reading comprehension, creativity, and engagement.”

In 1 Bite: We all know that dieting is hard. In this study, the team examined whether dieting might be easier and less stressful when using the diet “buddy system.”

In 1 Bite: How rewarding is food? This paper proposes improvements to our previously created scale to measure how eating behaviors are rewarding.

In 1 Bite: Can gluttony rival lush behavior? Grad student Jenna, addictions researcher Dr. Lara Ray, & Dr. T found that when girls ate more sweet high-fat & fast foods they drank less alcohol.

In 1 Bite: Calorie restriction dramatically extends lifespan in other species, but will it work in humans? At least in terms of the immune system, it doesn’t seem like it.

In 1 Bite: Can an evolutionary perspective help health psychologists design more effective eating interventions and policies? This article describes how!

In 1 Bite: Do childhood adversities impact tobacco use? Drs. Alcalá, von Ehrenstein and Dr. T find that some childhood adversities are associated with increased tobacco product use among US adults.

In 1 Bite: Ever wondered what life is like for people who are heavy? In this study Angela, Courtney, and Dr. T put participants in a fat suit to see how it affected their feelings, eating, and antifat attitudes.

In 1 Bite: Is BMI a good measure of health? Dr. T, Jeff, and Jolene found that an estimated 54 million US adults are classified as cardiometabolically unhealthy when they’re not.

In 1 Bite: Cortisol and obesity – is there a link? In this review, grad student Angela, undergrads Erin Standen and Megan White, and Dr. T find that the literature is messier than you’d think.

In 1 Bite: In this Letter to the Editor, Jeff and Dr. T argue that it’s time to stop focusing on weight and start focusing on actual indicators of health.

In 1 Bite: Does comfort eating actually comfort? Laura & Dr. T found that comfort eating can buffer the impact of negative life experiences on psychological stress, but only for non-depressed women.

In 1 Bite: In this prior paper, Dr. T found that long-term stress is related to long-term BMI gain. Now, the team finds that exercise can break that link.

In 1 Bite: Several misconceptions about obesity have held us back when promoting health. This paper debunks those and offers suggestions for new policy initiatives.

In 1 Bite: Where do all these negative attitudes toward heavy individuals come from? This paper suggests that people’s thoughts and feelings about their own bodies influences antifat attitudes.

In 1 Bite: In a world where weight is on everyone’s minds, how might just seeing an image of an overweight person influence how we eat? In this field study, the DiSH team attempts to answer that question.

In 1 Bite: Brain scans versus self-report – what’s the better measure? As usual – it depends! This paper describes what predicts eating in everyday life, and how dieting fits in.

In 1 Bite: Using a tricky manipulation, Angela, Dr. T, and Andrew Ward found that people perceived scents as less appealing when in the presence of an image of a heavy individual versus a thin one.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T and DiSH Lab Grad Students Laura and Jenna review the existing research on the phenomenon of “comfort eating,” offering insightful future areas for research.

In 1 Bite: Do you have to be overweight to experience the stress of weight stigma? This paper says no! And that weight stigma can actually affect your stress hormone levels.

In 1 Bite: The BodPod is a neat device that lets you estimate body fat. But is it accurate at the extremes of body size? This paper suggests that, especially for very thin individuals, it might not be.

In 1 Bite: This study indicates that weight stigma is still widespread today. There’s hope for the future, however, as some forms of weight bias have declined since 2001.

In 1 Bite: Borrowing concepts from engineering, this paper looks at how our stress and metabolic systems function as a whole, intertwined system.

In 1 Bite: Weight stigma feels bad, but could it even result in weight gain? Dr. T constructs a model to explain this vicious cycle.

In 1 Bite: Can weight stigma get under our skin? This study examines the relationship between weight stigma and biological stress and long-term cellular aging.

In 1 Bite: Food might be addictive, just like other rewarding substances like alcohol or drugs. In this paper, you can take a 9-question test to see how rewarding food is to you.

In 1 Bite: What makes a good dieter? Dr. T, Elissa Epel, and DiSH Lab Grad Student Angela Incollingo Belsky take a look at successful dieters to see if certain qualities are key to dieting success.

In 1 Bite: This paper explains a surprising finding about the long-term consequences of calling someone “fat.”

In 1 Bite: Ever wonder what is going on in our our brains when we can’t resist that delicious treat? This study highlights the brain regions underlying self-regulation and food cravings.

In 1 Bite: Would dieting pass the FDA’s standards as a viable treatment for obesity? Probably not, according to this article.

In 1 Bite: Does losing weight improve health? This review examines the dieting literature and finds a surprising (and controversial) answer to this question.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T. and Traci Mann respond to Daniel Callahan’s controversial claim that weight stigma can reduce obesity.

In 1 Bite: Using the big difference in obesity rates between Black and White females as a starting point, this study looks at race as a component in the stress-obesity link over a 10-year time period.

In 1 Bite: This paper discusses calorie restriction’s impact on the life span, focusing on long-term human calorie restrictors and their unique success with lasting eating behavior change.

In 1 Bite: How can you avoid stress eating? This study focuses on the role of a certain hormone, leptin, in making you eat less even when you’re stressed out.

In 1 Bite: This study looks at how stress might get under the skin to make us age faster.

In 1 Bite: Can our thoughts influence aging? This study looks at the way we respond to upcoming stressful situations and whether that is related to cellular aging.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T. and Traci Mann comment on the surprising findings in Mind over milkshakes: mindset, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response, research by Crum and colleagues.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T finds that really stressed out people do more comfort eating – plus they have lower cortisol responses to stress, and lower cortisol levels in general.

In 1 Bite: Could tossing and turning make you older? This study looks at the relationship between sleeping poorly and cellular aging.

In 1 Bite: Exercise your stress away: this study investigates the positive impact of a physically active lifestyle in dealing with stress.

In 1 Bite: Is dieting stressful? Oprah says yes, and so does this study that shows that dieting increases both mental stress and the stress hormone cortisol.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T and Mary Dallman respond to criticism that they didn’t measure all of the hormones they should have in their “Low Calorie Dieting Increases Cortisol” study.

In 1 Bite: Checking up on Health Psychology’s sphere of influence, this paper counts up how often the journal’s articles make it into other articles in psychology, medicine, and health.

In 1 Bite: Breaking your diet may not lead to total failure! This study tests to see whether dieters can control their eating outside a lab setting after violating the rules of their diet.

In 1 Bite: This study takes eating out of the lab and into the real world, using hourly reports to identify eating triggers in the context of everyday life.

In 1 Bite: Can a lack of zzz’s increase your lbs.? This study measures hormone levels in chronic insomnia patients to explore how sleep deprivation might impact energy regulation and weight.

In 1 Bite: Dr. T and Traci Mann respond to criticism of their claim that “Diets are not the Answer” to obesity, reaffirming the importance of a focus on direct measures of health instead of weight in general.

In 1 Bite: Is a close family always a good thing? This paper looks at families from different cultures to explore the link between extreme family closeness and symptoms of eating disorders.

In 1 Bite: Is dieting really an effective treatment for obesity? This is a review of the long-term outcomes of calorie-restricting diets to see if diets really lead to lasting weight loss or health benefits.

In 1 Bite: What is the link between exercise and cancer? This study looks at whether exercising can reduce your risk of cancer, especially if you are part of an underserved population.

In 1 Bite: This paper considers different cultural beliefs from around the globe and how they may or may not affect parenting styles.