A Bloomberg Health podcast episode, titled, “Have the Dangers of Extra Pounds Been Exaggerated?” features Dr. Traci Mann, who explains how common weight stigma is in our society.
A little over a month into the new year, we may be reevaluating our new year resolutions. A popular resolution is making a change in our diets. This year, The New York Times started a weekly diet challenge - the Eat Well Challenge. Throughout this challenge, Traci Mann, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, was quoted several times. Below are the challenges in which she shared research-related insights.
On April 17th, several University of Minnesota Psychology students and faculty had the opportunity to present their research at the 55th Annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference (MUPC). This virtual event hosted by the University of St. Thomas, allowed participants to engage in poster presentations and student talks as well as attend informational sessions and hear from Keynote speaker Dr. Bryana French of the University of St. Thomas.
A Today article titled “Frank Luntz reveals struggle to maintain weight loss: 'I can't be this miserable,” overviews Frank Luntz’s, a pollster for American politics, weight loss journey and the struggle he and so many others face when it comes to maintaining weight loss.
In a Discover Magazine article titled “Forget Dieting. Here’s What Really Works to Lose Weight,” Traci Mann, PhD, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, explains that constant dieting is not ideal for a pleasant life and leads to physiological changes that make it harder to stick to dieting. Some problems with dieting include the obsession with thoughts of food. While balancing your calorie intake and outtake can be helpful for losing weight, obsessing over it can be self-sabotaging. Mann suggests a better approach: accept our bodies and fight weight stigma.
With a new year often comes a long list of resolutions. On the top of that list usually lies some type of change in diet. Due to the pandemic, many Americans say their diet has gotten increasingly worse. In a Consumer Reports article titled, “4 No-Fail Diet Resolutions,” researchers discuss how to set yourself up for success when it comes to dieting goals.
In Traci Mann’s, Health Psychology class, students were tasked with creating a public health campaign that encouraged proper mask use. Traci Mann, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota.
Mann was excited by the work she saw, as students applied their classroom knowledge to a real-world pressing issue.
Mann was excited by the work she saw, as students applied their classroom knowledge to a real-world pressing issue.
Many may notice that when times begin to get stressful, they tend to reach for comfort foods like pizza or ice cream. In an AARP article titled, “Tame Your Stress Eating,” researchers have found that two-thirds of Americans have been eating more feel-good foods since the start of the pandemic. When facing long-term stress, cortisol levels stay elevated, triggering a craving for high fatty and sugary foods.
“Thinsplaining,” a now-common term, refers to the situation in which a person who has never struggled with weight still assumes they are qualified to give advice or pass judgment on those who do. A Salon article titled, “Thinsplaining is real: Science says permanent weight loss is rare, and thin people don't get it,” explains that maintaining weight loss has very little to do with willpower and more so to do with how the brain reacts to processed foods similar to how it does with an addiction with drugs or alcohol.
Traci Mann, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota’s book, Secrets from the Eating Lab, was mentioned in an article by University of Virginia Today titled “Q&A: Why People are ‘Stress Eating’ During the Pandemic, and How to Stop.”
