How To Use Behavioral Economics To Lose Weight

flickr/poptechAt the end of the day, business is all about incentives and thinking about the way people act.

Understanding what motivates people is the basis for a huge field of research — behavioral economics — which can be applied to situations that extend well beyond the business world.

Carmen Nobel at Harvard Business School Working Knowledge recently took a look at some business school studies to learn about weight loss. Here are the three best takeaways:

Order groceries in advance

Researchers Todd Rogers, Katherine L. Milkman, and Max H. Bazerman from Harvard Business School wanted to look at how decisions made for tomorrow differ from those made say, a few days or a week in advance.

The data they used was from online grocery shopping, and they found that "as the delay between order completion and delivery increases, grocery customers spend less, order a higher percentage of "should" items (e.g., vegetables), and order a lower percentage of "want" items (e.g., ice cream)"

Find the full study here

Make a habit of carrying a heavier bag

No, it's not to burn extra calories.

The idea of guilt being a weight on your shoulders is a long standing literary convention. Maryam Kouchaki andFrancesca Gino of Harvard andAta Jami of the University of Central Florida tested its basis in reality.

They found that students who wore a heavy backpack experienced higher levels of guilt, and were also more likely to pick healthy snacks as opposed to guilt inducing ones like chocolate.

Find the full study here

Try a "power pose"

Research from Harvard's Amy Cuddy has found that as little as two minutes in an open, expansive stance she calls a "power pose" can increase feelings of confidence and power. It actually affects hormone levels, as this chart from the study shows. The left side shows an increase in testosterone after a high-power pose, and the right a reduction in cortisol, a stress hormone.

High levels of cortisol have been shown to lead to increased abdominal fat.

Find more tips at Harvard Business School Working Knowledge