A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Research shows that people who go to the grocery store with a shopping trolley, rather than with bags or baskets, buy more healthy foods than others.
Read more: How to avoid buying junk food? Do shopping with a shopping trolley!The researchers, who observed 136 people during food choices at the grocery store, discovered that people who used baskets they carried rather than shopping bag on wheels were more than three times more likely to choose junk foods over healthy ones.
The secret of this phenomenon lies in human psychology, more precisely, in “embodied cognition”. Briefly, in the influence of our bodily sensations on our psychological states. In this case, researchers argue that flexing your arm, as it does when you’re holding a shopping basket, somehow encourages you to choose smaller and lighter items (junk food like chips, sugary drinks, cookies, etc.), while extending your arm, as when using a shopping trolley, has the opposite effect.
Put it in the nutshell, the very act of holding on the basket can produce a desire for instant gratification that overrides long-term goals. That’s why when you walk out of the grocery store, you may find yourself with huge bags of unhealthy foods. And as a result of eating these products, you will acquire diseases such as metabolic diseases, digestive diseases, diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, anemia.
That’s why the result of this experiment is really amazing. Because, according to the research, using shopping trolley instead of bags can help people to stop buying unhealthy food and pick up good habits with no effort. Let’s say a shopping trolley bag can help you live a long, healthy life and forget about doctors and hospitals.
To see for yourself the magical results of this experiment, we decided to carry out this experiment and to propose to our journalists to change their habits and take the shopping trolley with them when they do their shopping during 4 weeks. Here is the result.
Garry, 23 years old:
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t do shopping, that was my girlfriend who did it. She said that when I do shopping, we eat only ready-to-serve meals or snacks and sandwiches (laughing). But the experiment, offered by our editor, have changed it. When I started taking shopping trolley with me, not using only my hands and pockets as I did it before (laughing again), I discovered that I started taking healthy products, as potatoes, cabbages etc. Of cause I can’t say that I didn’t take any junk food, cause I did, but not as much as before. My girlfriend also noticed it and she was happy about it, even if that was she who had to prepare it (laughing)”.
Mary, 29 years old:
“I’ve been using bags for as long as I can remember. When I saw people using shopping bag on trolley instead of bags, I thought it was quite inconvenient because the bags are small and light whereas the carts are always big. That’s why I found this experiment quite difficult at first. Honestly, it’s not easy to change our habits. Meanwhile when I went shopping with a shopping trolley first time, I was surprised. Firstly, because it was really comfortable to use it, secondly because I didn’t take junk food! Even my favourites cookies which I am keen on. I was surprised and bewildered in the same time, so I decided to take shopping trolley at the grocery store with me during 4 weeks. And do you know what? I have never once taken junk food! My husband appreciated my new way do shopping, he noticed that thereby junk food like cookies, chips etc has disappeared from our house. Now he says that shopping trolley helped him to lose weight better then gym (laughing)”.
Patrick, 32 years old:
“As Mary, I was doing shopping using a shopping bag during 4 weeks. First of all, I must admit that it’s really handy to have exactly shopping trolley at the grocery store, using it you can take more heavy products like bottles of milk, potatoes, heavy vegetables as eggplants, cabbage etc. Secondly, I noticed that when you don’t have to wear huge bags in your hands, you haven’t desire to take little stuff such chips, sausages, canned goods, store-bought sauces, store-bought confections and candies. You are more responsible about what you are going to take from the shelves at the grocery store.”
Jenny, 45 years old:
“I live nearby grocery store and in spite of other people, I can do shopping almost every day. To tell you the truth, that is how I did it before this experiment. When you live near a store, on your way to or from work, you’re bound to go there to get something to eat. At least that’s how I justified buying chocolate, cookies, snacks etc.
When our editor suggested that I participate in an experiment and go shopping for four weeks using a shopping trolley, I wasn’t too happy about it. Why do I need this huge shopping bag on wheels when I practically always get by with a bag, I thought. Nevertheless, already after the first trip to the grocery store with a shopping trolley instead of a bag, I felt the difference. You won’t believe it, but for the first time in a long time, I bought a minimum of unhealthy products. Also, I was buying a lot of healthy foods like vegetables and meats rather than already prepared foods. Other than that, I started going to the grocery store only once a week because the shopping bag allowed me to buy enough groceries to last a long time. So, I can say that in my case, the experiment of researchers of Journal of Marketing Research really proved to be true”.
As you can see, our own experiment has proven that using a shopping trolley instead of a bag while shopping has a good impact. You stop buying junk food and become more responsible for what you eat.
Want to be healthy? Use a shopping trolley!