Cornell Study Says a CAN-Do Diet Approach Can Work — Dave’s Diary

The headlines leap off the covers of magazines in supermarkets all over the country: "Get in Shape for Summer," "Get Your Bikini Body Back," "Lose 5 Pounds in Five Days," etc.

Part of the process invariable includes a diet of some kind, and now new research from Cornell University says there’s a simple three-step formula to a healthier diet.

After reviewing hundreds of studies, the top three things that helped people choose healthier foods were making your food: Convenient, attractive and normal. And because acronyms make everything better, they’ve boiled it down to having a “C-A-N-do attitude.”

WebMD.com says the Cornell researchers found that the CAN approach is “more effective than telling people what they can't eat or asking them to rely on willpower to resist tempting foods.” They say willpower works for only 5 to 10 percent of the population -- and about 95 percent of diets fail.

This seems a bit inflated, but the study says a typical person makes up to 200 food-related decisions a day, and since most people don't have time to sit and analyze what they are eating they make the majority of food decisions “quick and instinctive.”

Using the CAN approach focuses people on rearranging their environment so their diet choices work for them.