Study Finds Listening to Hard Rock, Heavy Metal Can Lead To Unhealthy Food Choices

Listening to rock music makes people fatter, a new study has found.

According to research in Denmark and China, listening to hard rock and heavy metal can lead to unhealthy food choices.

The study, published in the science journal Appetite last month, involved 215 cross-cultural participants from China and Denmark. They were presented with a variety of food choices, healthy and unhealthy, and different soundtracks.

Heavy rock and abrasive hip-hop have been identified by researchers as music genres that make people less likely to have a healthy diet and lead to a 40 per cent increase in cravings for fattier, saltier and sugary snacks.

Danni Peng-Li, a doctoral student in the department of food science at Denmark's Aarhus University and the study's lead author, said: "Fast tempo, high volume, staccato articulation, dissonance, distortion and lower pitch were associated with unhealthy eating."

However, people who like melodic jazz are more likely to tuck into healthy foods such as salads.

Peng-Li said: "Usually soft classical music, meditation music or simply nature sounds will do the trick.

"Any music or soundscape that makes you mentally and physically relaxed is a better choice than music that induces the opposite."

Peng-Li suggests that people watching their weight should be mindful of the music they listen to.

He said: "Unhealthy or stressful music can diminish the cognitive resources that are necessary for making more rational and healthy food choices, whereas 'healthy' music generates a more relaxed and clearer mind."

The study can be found here. — BANG SHOWBIZ

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