A big greasy cheeseburger set next to a neatly stacked veggie burger piled with lots of colorful, yummy toppings might be enough to fool a person into eating healthy. The advertisement or photo would just need to make a cheeseburger look less appetizing than the alternative, a new Washington State University study suggests.

“Our biology is primed to crave food that looks really tasty,” said Rachel Bailey, the study’s author and assistant professor at WSU's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.

Researchers gauged the reactions of 143 adult participants ages 18-38 from a large Midwest college using electrodes attached to their hand and face. People looked at food product advertisements.

"Some foods were in branded packages that minimized certain “food cue” imagery - such as shine, texture or color," a WSU spokesman said. "Others introduced the food with pictures that showed off these cues that signal tastiness."

Bailey said people “gravitate toward the food options that have the most appealing imagery because it signals nutrition and tastiness to us,” Bailey said. “In the next phase of this ongoing project, I will be examining how packaging and its ability to restrict or enhance food cues can change purchase and consumption behaviors of a variety of different types of foods,” she said.

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