You're Probably Not Craving the Burger. You're craving the billboard.

On school routes across Britain, the British Berry Growers recently replaced typical fast-food advertising with giant posters celebrating fresh berries instead.

At first glance, it looked like a clever marketing campaign.

But underneath was a much bigger question.

If we're constantly surrounded by adverts for burgers, pizzas and fried chicken...

How much are those images shaping what we eat before we've even realised we're hungry?

Turns out, quite a lot.

Your brain is always taking notes

Every day, your brain processes thousands of visual cues.

Most of them happen without you noticing.

The coffee shop on your commute.

The chocolate at the supermarket checkout.

The takeaway app notification.

The crisps sitting on the kitchen counter.

None of these force you to eat.

But they do make eating more likely.

Psychologists call these food cues.

Tiny reminders that nudge our brains towards thinking about food.

And often, towards eating it.

Hunger isn't always what starts eating

We've all experienced it.

You weren't thinking about chocolate...

Until someone opened a packet.

You weren't planning to order a takeaway...

Until the advert popped up during your favourite programme.

That's because appetite isn't driven by hunger alone.

It's also influenced by what we see, smell and expect.

Our environment quietly shapes hundreds of tiny food decisions every week.

We're living in a world designed to make us snack

Modern food environments don't happen by accident.

Highly processed foods are often:

• Brightly coloured.
• Easy to see.
• Convenient to grab.
• Constantly advertised.
• Positioned at eye level.

Meanwhile, healthier foods often require a little more effort to find.

It's no wonder making healthy choices can sometimes feel... harder than it should.

The good news?

You can redesign your own environment too.

Curate your cues

You don't need perfect willpower.

You need better defaults.

Small changes around your home can reduce the number of unhealthy food cues your brain sees every day.

Try:

• Leaving a fruit bowl where you'll actually see it.
• Keeping chopped vegetables at eye level in the fridge.
• Storing treats inside cupboards instead of on worktops.
• Keeping a water bottle within easy reach.
• Placing healthier snacks at the front of the pantry.

None of these changes rely on motivation.

They simply make the healthier option the easier option.

Your future self shops your kitchen

Here's something people rarely think about.

The healthiest food decision often happens at the supermarket.

Not at 9pm.

Your cupboards become tomorrow's environment.

If healthier foods are visible, accessible and ready to eat, they're far more likely to end up on your plate.

Your pantry quietly makes decisions before you do.

It's not about banning burgers

Let's be clear.

This isn't about labelling foods as "good" or "bad".

Or pretending cravings don't exist.

Enjoying a burger now and then isn't the issue.

The issue is when we're constantly nudged towards foods we never consciously chose in the first place.

That's where awareness becomes powerful.

Health isn't only about what's on your plate

It's also about what's around it.

The adverts you scroll past.

The snacks you leave on the counter.

The foods waiting at eye level every time you open the fridge.

You don't need to overhaul your diet overnight.

Sometimes changing what you see is enough to change what you reach for.

Because healthy habits rarely come from having more willpower.

They come from creating an environment that quietly works in your favour.

Maybe it's time to curate your cues.

References

• British Berry Growers (2025) British Berry Growers Launch Anti-Fast-Food Billboard Campaign Promoting Fresh Berries Near Schools.
• Hollands, G.J., Shemilt, I., Marteau, T.M. et al. (2019) 'Altering micro-environments to change population health behaviour: A systematic review and meta-analysis', BMC Public Health, 19, 1140.
• Marteau, T.M., Hollands, G.J. and Fletcher, P.C. (2012) 'Changing human behaviour to prevent disease: The importance of targeting automatic processes', Science, 337(6101), pp. 1492-1495.
• Cohen, D.A. and Babey, S.H. (2012) 'Contextual influences on eating behaviours: Heuristic processing and dietary choices', Obesity Reviews, 13(9), pp. 766-779.
• Robinson, E., Bevelander, K.E., Field, M. and Jones, A. (2018) 'Methodological and reporting quality in laboratory studies of food cue reactivity', Appetite, 125, pp. 486-494.
• World Health Organization (2022) Food Marketing Exposure and Children's Health. Geneva: World Health Organization.