Feeding on screens, not on plates: The paradoxical impact of unhealthy food content in digital media

In this study, we investigate whether visual exposure to indulgent, unhealthy foods reduces subsequent consumption and through what mechanisms. Across three experiments using a food blog, dieters suppressing cravings showed greater engagement with unhealthy food content than with healthy content. Crucially, this visual engagement reduced actual food consumption through cross-modal satiation, a process in which sensory stimulation in one modality (visual) diminishes desire in another (gustatory). By testing cross-modal satiation as a mediator, this work advances understanding of how visual media can be harnessed as a self-regulatory aid rather than a trigger for overindulgence. The findings challenge assumptions that food-related media inevitably promotes overeating and suggest that digital environments could be deliberately designed to use visual exposure for appetite regulation, offering new strategies to help individuals maintain dietary goals and reduce compulsive overconsumption.