Importance of Pleasantness and Convenience in Formulating Habits

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Pleasantness and convenience are important aspects of maintaining habits.

Both of these are what makes a habit easy to follow. One makes you want to do it, and the other makes it easy to start.

One recent medical study on foods demonstrated how ready-to-eat, nice tasting snacks can help individuals add healthy food items into their lives.

Lifestyle modification (such as diet and exercise) comes before medication when it comes to healthcare. However, not all lifestyle interventions are pleasant for all. Some may be unwilling or unable to take drastic changes in their lifestyle.

Here is where ready-to-eat, “hedonically acceptable snacks” (as the study puts it) helps individuals fulfil their diet recommendations.

The study offered participants “oatmeal, pancakes, cranberry bars, chocolate bars, smoothies, and a granola-type offering” (indeed, sounds very pleasant and hedonically acceptable) that were formulated specifically to be healthy.

The base wholefood ingredients (walnuts, almonds, oats, berries, etc.) are noted to be beneficial to cardiovascular health, and must deliver a set amount of fibre, alpha-lipoic acid, phytosterols,