Hot or not: visceral influences on coping planning for weight loss attempts

The current studies aimed to examine how either or not being hungry (hot vs. cold state) affects uninformed (i.e. without specific instructions) coping planning for maintaining goal-directed behaviour in weight loss attempts. We hypothesised that being hungry is beneficial both for (1) increasing awareness of potentially challenging situations and for (2) planning how to cope with these situations. The first hypothesis was supported, whereas the second was not, as it was found that satiated participants constructed better quality coping plans than hungry participants. It appears that awareness of potentially challenging situations when hungry does not necessarily translate into better coping planning. Although coping planning appears to be a promising strategy for maintaining goal-directed behaviour, future research should focus on visceral states to improve its use.