Welcome to the Mann Lab!


Who we are

We are a psychology laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Traci Mann, that focues on how people control their health behaviors after deciding to make a change. We focus closely on the particular health behaviors of dieting and eating, though we occasionally branch out into smoking and exericse.


What we do

We conduct studies to answer questions about self-control of health behaviors with an emphasis on eating behaviors in particular. We aim to understand the factors that make it difficult for dieters to control eating. We also seek to understand the factors that promote eating in order to improve health.


why it matters

Research from this lab provides important information about dieting and healthy eating. We have helped organizations such as the USDA and NASA promote eating in children and astronauts respectively. The continued work of the Mann Lab will update current knowledge about weight loss and may lead to creative solutions to encourage healthy eating rather than excessive dieting.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: THE MYTH OF COMFORT FOOD


THE EMOTIONAL HEALING POWERS OF FOOD MAY BE OVERRATED

"True, your mood will probably improve shortly after you eat your favorite high-carb hug, but no more so than if you'd eaten a granola bar--a pleasant enough choice, but hardly a fixture in that calorically elevated "comfort food" category. In a study published in the journal Health Psychology, researchers at the University of Minnesota found that even when you don't soothe yourself with food, your mood will probaby bounce back on its own."


SECRETS FROM THE EATING LAB


THE SCIENCE OF WEIGHT LOSS, THE MYTH OF WILLPOWER, AND WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER DIET AGAIN

A provocative expose of the dieting industry from one of the nation’s leading researchers in self-control and the psychology of weight loss that offers proven strategies for sustainable weight loss.

From her office in the University of Minnesota’s Health and Eating Lab, professor Traci Mann researches self-control and dieting. And what she has discovered is groundbreaking. Not only do diets not work; they often result in weight gain. Americans are losing the battle of the bulge because our bodies and brains are not hardwired to resist food—the very idea of it works against our biological imperative to survive.