What if a simple quiz could help you lose weight and be healthier?
The typical advice for weight loss is straightforward enough — eat less and move more.
But this doesn’t always work, as several factors affect how everyone sheds pounds, from genetics and hormonal balance to age, gender and stress levels.
New research suggests that one surprising strategy could help people stay on track: a 17-question quiz that determines your “eating profile.”
A peer-reviewed study led by researchers at City St George’s, University of London, found that participants who took a brief quiz to identify their profile were significantly more engaged in a 12-week digital weight loss program — and more likely to stick with it.
“We wanted to create some personalized advice for weight loss that would help to increase adherence to a weight loss program,” Joanna Szypula, study lead author and behavior change researcher, told The Post.
After completing the quiz, which asks about people’s eating habits and goal-setting, patients were matched with one of four cognitive behavioral profiles.
Then they received weekly advice tailored to their behaviors or thought patterns that may have prevented them from successfully losing weight.
Those who took the quiz not only recorded more meals and communicated with health coaches more often, but also saw greater weight loss on average than those who didn’t.
However, the difference wasn’t statistically significant within the seven-week time frame.
The study and profiles were developed to address what Szypula believes is a common problem with standard weight loss advice: that, despite how simple it seems, different people need support in different ways.
“Obesity is a complex disease, which means multifaceted treatments,” she said.
“The profiles are helpful because it helps you identify that first key block that you need to address before moving on to the other things and ultimately, what will help you to eat less, move more, but in a slightly more personalized, achievable, actionable way.”
The four ‘eating profiles’
Each profile has a color and spice: red chili, yellow saffron, purple lavender and green sage.
The red chili profile group was “maladaptive comfort-eaters” who often feel guilt and shame over their food intake.
The second group, yellow saffron, was designated as a “food lover” category for people who get pleasure from eating foods that taste good and are typically high in calories, fat and sugar.
Focusing on goals, the purple lavender group was people who find it hard to achieve their goals. This group didn’t show the same overeating or emotional eating patterns as the other two groups.
And the final group, green sage, didn’t seem to have food issues. These members were categorized as “well-adjusted” people who just can’t seem to control their weight.
The advice given to participants was designed to address particular areas where they may struggle.
Inside the weight loss recommendations
Red chilis focused on mindfulness and compassion, while yellow food lovers were encouraged to choose smaller portions and practice mindful eating.
Meanwhile, the sage group was offered more holistic advice on incorporating healthier choices into their lives.
For setting goals, like working out, it was suggested to start with small daily goals rather than large ambitious ones to build momentum and get into a habit.
“It might be really ambitious to try and go for three [days at the gym] straight away, but let’s say that every day you exercise for two minutes,” Szypula explained.
“It’s a very low-commitment thing. But once you get into the habit, into the routine of exercising for two minutes every day, it does feel a lot easier to then go once, at first, maybe then twice, three times.”
The red and yellow groups were also taught how to manage thoughts around food, essentially to acknowledge any thoughts they may have, but not act on them.
For example, if they wanted a chocolate bar, they could tell themselves it’s fine to crave that, but they don’t have to eat it if they want to pursue a different course of action for their health.
This was a brain exercise Szypula likened to driving a bus to a destination — a health goal to lose weight or be more active — and dealing with distracting passengers or thoughts.
“As you’re driving, passengers will shout at you to take detours, but you, as the driver, have control of the wheel, and you decide where you go,” she mused.
“Even if you listen to one of the passengers just for a minute, take a little detour,” Szypula added, “you then get back on track and keep driving to your destination because that’s the most important thing.”
