If your refrigerator is plastered with motivational phrases like “go for a run” or “get moving,” you may want to rethink your decor. Research from the University of Illinois suggests those messages may do more harm than good. A group of 53 college students snacked on a third more raisins after looking at posters with motivational exercise phrases than those who viewed neutral posters. In a related experiment, 51 college students were asked to view words that flashed across a computer screen. The group that viewed exercise words like active or go ate 20 percent more food than those who read words like pear or moon.
Source: Obesity, March 2009