[originaltext] A study published in September suggests there is a surprising

A study published in September suggests there is a surprising way to get people to avoid unhealthy foods: change their memories. Scientist Elizabeth Loftus of the University of California at Irvine asked volunteers to answer some questions on their personalities and food experiences. "One week later," Loftus says, "we told those people we’d fed their answers into our smart computer and it came up with an account of their early childhood experiences." Some accounts included one key additional detail. "You got sick after eating strawberry ice-cream." The researchers then changed this detail into a manufactured memory through leading questions—Who were you with? How did you feel? By the end of the study, up to 41% of those given a false memory believed strawberry ice-cream once made them sick, and many said they’d avoid eating it.
    When Loftus published her findings, she started getting calls from people begging her to make them remember hating chocolate or French fries. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. False memories appear to work only for foods you don’t cat on a regular basis. But most important, it is likely that false memories can be implanted only in people who are unaware of the mental control. And lying to a patient is immoral, even if a doctor believes it’s for the patient’s benefit.
    Loftus says there’s nothing to stop parents from trying it with their overweight children. "I say, wake up—parents have been lying about Father Christmas for years, and nobody seems to mind. If they can prevent diseases caused by fatness and all the other problems that come with that, you might think that’s a more moral lie. Decide that for yourself."