A study that doesn't ask the right questions

[S Bear]

Psychologists studying physiology and decisionmaking have concluded that drinking sugary sodas before making a decision (http://www.examiner.com/x-8543-SF-Health-News-Examiner~y2010m2d1-Study-Impulsive-Sugar-to-the-Rescue) results in less-impulsive, sounder decisionmaking. In other words, higher blood sugar means a greater willingness to delay gratification. And one of the study's authors says, "So diet soft drinks lead to increased impulsivity."

(This is one of those cases where you can't get at the actual study without subscribing. This is also one of those studies the newspapers love.)

I can believe that there might be something in the idea that satiation affects decisionmaking in a favorable way, but they really should have looked at more than just a blood sugar spike.

They also should have considered what happens to decisionmaking in the following blood-sugar crash.

Oh, well.

[Frank Hagan]

Psychologists studying physiology and decisionmaking have concluded that drinking sugary sodas before making a decision (http://www.examiner.com/x-8543-SF-Health-News-Examiner%7Ey2010m2d1-Study-Impulsive-Sugar-to-the-Rescue) results in less-impulsive, sounder decisionmaking. In other words, higher blood sugar means a greater willingness to delay gratification. And one of the study's authors says, "So diet soft drinks lead to increased impulsivity."

As you mention, you can't get at the actual study to see why one of the author's makes what appears to be an unfounded conclusion. If drinking a soda before decision making results in "less impulsive" decisions, it does not follow that diet soft drinks have the opposite effect. They may have no effect at all.

[mcsblues]

Ah but you have to be prone to making impulsive, unsound decisions to drink the soda in the first place!;)

[maxlharris]

I can believe that there might be something in the idea that satiation affects decisionmaking in a favorable way, but they really should have looked at more than just a blood sugar spike.

They also should have considered what happens to decisionmaking in the following blood-sugar crash.
Not relevant. Your average person self-medicating their lack of quality sleep, or low energy level with a sugared soda (I speak from experience), faces the crash and responds by getting another sugary soda. Eventually, they get to where they sip the soda like an IV drip all day. That's how I got through my MBA. It's also how I gained 25-35 lbs during my MBA.

Would be curious to see if they controlled for caffeine. Because the caffeine works for me, really. It's how I've moved to Diet Coke instead of Vanilla Coke as my poison of choice.

[KittehMuscles]

Actually, there was a study a few decades back that concluded that people who ATE before going grocery/mall shopping were less likely to impulse buy on frivolous items. I have definitely found that to be true. I'm so full that I can't even think of anything I want -- just getting done what needs to get done.

[maxlharris]

Actually, there was a study a few decades back that concluded that people who ATE before going grocery/mall shopping were less likely to impulse buy on frivolous items. I have definitely found that to be true. I'm so full that I can't even think of anything I want -- just getting done what needs to get done.
Not sure if that's a blood sugar thing or a satiation/hunger vs. rational thought thing.

I do not go to the super market hungry. It never ended well when I did it.

[S Bear]

Would be curious to see if they controlled for caffeine. Because the caffeine works for me, really.

I'm a fan of caffeine. Not sure it improves my judgement, but it enables me to make more misjudgements in a shorter time span, which at leats allows the possiblity of rectifying problems before they fossilize.

Caffeine is about velocity. And, as Emerson said, "When skating on thin ice, our safety lies in our speed."

[maxlharris]

Depends on your brain wiring.
If you are wired like an ADD or ADHD person, the caffeine is about more than processing speed. It's also about focus. I speak from experience here. The focus makes the details come together a lot better, which allows better thin-slicing and better quick decision making.

I don't "not buy" this article, but the caffeine or other stimulants work a lot better for my mental acuity than the sugar ever did.

[S Bear]

Depends on your brain wiring.
If you are wired like an ADD or ADHD person, the caffeine is about more than processing speed.

I'm wired like whatever the opposite of ADD is. I'm a writer and a computer programmer, and frequently I get to working on something and look up and--poof!--four hours have gone by.

[n.b. Alien abduction or petit mal epilepsy are other possible explanations for this loss of time.]


I don't "not buy" this article, but the caffeine or other stimulants work a lot better for my mental acuity than the sugar ever did.

My main problem with this article is that they were confounding "high blood sugar" with "satiation," and concluding that the effect was a result of the subjects feeling safer and less needy when their blood sugar was high. That manages to really mush things up...

[mcsblues]

If you are wired like an ADD or ADHD person, the caffeine is about more than processing speed. It's also about focus. I speak from experience here. The focus makes the details come together a lot better, which allows better thin-slicing and better quick decision making. Interesting. My wiring responds remarkably to low carb. Focus and mental clarity improved out of sight in the first weeks (long before significant weight loss). At a guess this is a combination of lower blood sugar and adaptation to ketone 'brain fuel'. Caffeine OTOH wakes me up (hmm time for just one more!) but if I have too much I get that unpleasant 'wired' feeling, particularly later in the day, which makes focussing on just one task more difficult.

[mrsdoug]

Your average person self-medicating their lack of quality sleep, or low energy level with a sugared soda (I speak from experience), faces the crash and responds by getting another sugary soda. Eventually, they get to where they sip the soda like an IV drip all day.

This was me. The first week I went LC, about 2 days in I became stupid-as in I had trouble balancing the checkbook. If these people in the study were eating high carb, I would think they would feel more solid mentally after drinking a soda.