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conferenceseries
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Volume 8
Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
ISSN: 2165-7904
Childhood Obesity 2018
March 15-16, 2018
March 15-16, 2018 | Barcelona, Spain
11
th
International Conference on
Childhood Obesity and Nutrition
Behavioral economic strategy to reduce obesity
Shahram Heshmat
University of Illinois at Springfield, USA
A
fundamental research question in behavior change research is why are old habits so enduring even when we gain insight
about their damaging effects and are determined to change them? Why is it that people who are able to successfully
initiate changes in their behavior are more often than not unable to sustain those changes over time? What leads a person to
temporarily prefer poorer alternative? How can we explain such behavior that goes against our own self-interest? One possible
answer is that people have self-control problem in the form of a present-biased preference (a predisposition for excessive
myopic behavior) where one places extra weight on more immediate rewards. This session presents a behavioral economic
perspective for understanding self-control failure. Self-control failures result in the person to act in a way opposite to her
better judgments or intentions. Self-control can be temporarily undermined by a number of factors, including the surrounding
context, lack of willpower, cravings, negative moods, and so on. These factors together explain why there is conflict between
long-term human intentions and short-term actions, which leads to myopic decisions. An understanding of the circumstances
under which people fail at self-control can provide valuable insights into how to overcome self-control problems. This session
concludes by discussing ways to motivate individuals to act according with their long-term goals.
shesh1@uis.eduJ Obes Weight Loss Ther 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2165-7904-C1-058