Jun 26, 2015 05:06 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that an online computer game could help people lose weight.

Researchers at the University of Exeter and Cardiff University  found that a new computerized "brain training" game could help people control their snacking impulses and lose weight. Study participants lost an average of 1.5 pounds and consumed around 220 fewer calories a day whilst undergoing the week of training.

The online game trains people to resist unhealthy snack foods. The game requires people to repeatedly avoid pressing on pictures of certain images (e.g. of biscuits), whilst responding to other images (e.g. fruit, clothes), and therefore trains people to associate calorie-dense foods with "stopping."

"This research is still in its infancy and the effects are modest. Larger, registered trials with longer-term measures need to be conducted," Dr. Natalia Lawrence, lead researcher of the study, said in a statement. "However, our findings suggest that this cognitive training approach is worth pursuing: It is free, easy to do and 88 percent of our participants said they would be happy to keep doing it and would recommend it to a friend. This opens up exciting possibilities for new behaviour change interventions based on underlying psychological processes."

For the study, researchers recruited 42 adults between the ages 23 and 65 with BMIs ranging from 21 to 46 (healthy to obese). Study participants had to report regular intake at least three times per week of energy-dense snack foods (crisps, chocolate, biscuits).They were then weighed  and given food rating tasks and food diaries to complete one week before, and one week after the training, which they completed online at home or work.

Results showed that participants in the active group lost weight  consumed less and reported lower "liking" of the snack foods they were trained to stop to. The training also reduced how much the calorie-dense "stop" foods were liked. The reduction in weight and unhealthy snacking was maintained six months after the study according to participants' self-report.

The findings are detailed in the journal Appetite.

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