研究：厨房越乱，吃得越多

Turns out, you're not just what you eat -- you're also where you eat.

研究证明，不仅你“吃的是什么”很重要，你“在哪儿吃的”也很重要。

Researchers from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab found that study participants snacked on double the number of calories when standing in a messy kitchen compared to when they stood in an orderly one.

康奈尔大学食物与品牌实验室的研究人员发现，当人身处脏乱的厨房中，他们摄入的热量是身处整洁厨房时的两倍。

The researchers had 98 women spend 10 minutes in a kitchen, under the guise of asking them to wait for someone. Half of the participants stood in a cluttered kitchen, which was scattered with piles of newspapers and dirty dishes and had a ringing phone. The other half of the women waited in an organized kitchen.

研究人员邀请了98位女性参与实验，假装请她们在厨房中等人，待上10分钟。其中，一半等在脏乱的厨房中，四下散落着报纸与脏盘子，外加一部疯狂作响的电话。另一半则在一间井井有条的厨房中等候。

Both kitchens contained bowls of crackers, cookies and carrots, laid out for the participants to munch on. Each woman in the chaotic environment ate twice as many cookies -- a total of 53 more calories -- compared to those in the clean kitchen.

当然，两间厨房中均摆着一盘盘饼干、曲奇与胡萝卜，供实验对象享用。结果发现，身处脏乱厨房的女士比整洁厨房中的多吃了一倍曲奇，多摄入了整整53卡路里。

Why did this happen?

这究竟是怎么回事呢？

"Being in a chaotic environment and feeling out of control is bad for diets," psychology professor and study author Lenny Vartanian said in a statement. "It seems to lead people to think, ‘Everything else is out of control, so why shouldn’t I be?’”

实验报告作者、心理学教授莱尼·瓦塔尼安表示：“身处杂乱的环境中，人容易失去自控力，因而不利于健康饮食。人们会觉得：‘反正都乱作一团了，我干吗不也放纵一下自己呢？’”

Vartanian said he suspects the same behavior would be true for men, but he'd need to confirm it with research.

瓦塔尼安认为，男性在此实验中也会表现出类似的行为，不过这还有待证实。

While the study's sample size was small, the findings emphasize something we know all too well: Stress is bad for you. Stress often causes people to overeat, as cortisol, the stress hormone, can trigger an increase in appetite. Beyond weight gain, too much stress can also increase a person's heart rate, decrease sex drive and lead to painful conditions like headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers.

尽管该研究样本很小，但结果却强调了我们不得不承认的一个事实：焦虑伤身。压力常常会导致人们暴饮暴食，因为人体内的皮质醇（压力荷尔蒙）能增强食欲。压力大不仅会使你体重增加，还可能引发心率升高、性欲低迷、头痛腹泻、溃疡等不良反应。

While there are many ways to manage stress, including meditation, exercise and therapy, this particular study underscores the fact that there are easy and quick things you can do to find calm. The next time you procrastinate tidying up the kitchen, remember that the exercise will benefit you in so many ways. Plus, less clutter decreases the chances of unwanted, four-legged kitchen visitors coming around.

当然，纾解压力的方法数不胜数，比如冥想、运动、理疗等。不过，该研究也表明，舒缓身心可从身边的小事做起，简简单单，成效迅速。下回当你面对“满厨疮痍”，不幸又犯拖延症时，不妨告诉自己，打扫厨房，好处多多。另外，把屋子打扫得干干净净，也不怕“小强”造访啦。

Vocabulary

procrastinate：耽搁，拖延

clutter：杂乱，混乱