slimming process. Consequently, the aforementioned indices should be considered equally important. According to previously published theories, individuals who are motivated and involved in achieving a given goal utilize anti-temptation strategies [33,37,41]. The situation is different in persons who are not motivated to slim. Priming fattening food led to decreased importance being attached to the improvement of one’s silhouette as well as the losing excess weight goals in this group. We expected such an outcome, as according to the theoretical background there are two prerequisites of an asymmetrical facilitating association between the risk and the higher-priority goal, which activates control measures preventing the surrender to temptation. Firstly, individuals must be highly motivated and involved in the realization of the long-term goal, as well as to be diligent. Secondly, they must use individually developed, extensively and repeatedly practiced efficient strategies of self-control to enable them to achieve their goals [37]. While this first condition is definitely satisfied in the case of slimming obese individuals, the second one is apparently not-as BMI 30 kg/m2 suggests that these individuals did not learn efficient strategies for maintaining normal body weight. However, it should be noted that this quasi-experiment took place at the end of the slimming program, when the obese subjects were still learning and practicing effective strategies of dietary control under the supervision of specialists. Therefore, individuals from this group developed an asymmetrically facilitating relationship between their goal and the endangering temptation. Looking at fattening food did not lead to the abandoning of the goal of slimming as was observed in the non-slimming group. Motivation, involvement in the realization of the higher-priority goal, and acquired and practiced strategies of self-control prevented the diminishing of importance of the higher-priority goal. Consequently, the temptation associated with fattening food did not endanger the goal of slimming. 3. STUDY II: The Influence of Priming Stimuli Endangering or Consistent with the Higher-Priority Goal (Slimming), and Its Impact on Behaviour Dependent Measures Study II was an extended version of Study I. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of priming fattening or diet food in obese elderly individuals with an implemented goal, i.e., on the motivational and behavioural aspects of self-regulation related to losing weight in slimming subjects. We verified if the level of motivation and practice of effective self-control techniques of obese individuals was sufficient to develop the asymmetrically facilitating relationship between stimuli which are consistent or inconsistent with the goal of losing weight. Consequently, we verified if priming fattening food would induce a mental representation of the higher-priority goal, i.e., slimming. According to our assumptions, the development of such an association should be reflected by the inducing of preventive control, protecting against the temptation of fattening food [35]. Moreover, we verified whether priming healthy food motivated our participants to slim and engage in other behaviours consistent with the higher-priority goal of losing weight. The true behaviour of obese individuals was the core of the experiment. The following hypotheses were formulated: Hypotheses 2 (H2). On priming with healthy food, obese individuals choose healthy refreshments more frequently than do the controls. Hypotheses 3 (H3). On priming with fattening food, obese individuals choose healthy refreshments more frequently than do the controls. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 244 7 of 13 3.1.2. Participants and Research Methods The study included 102 obese individuals (BMI 30 kg/m2): 56 women (age M = 58.51, SD = 3.24), BMI M = 35.5 (SD = 3.12) and 48 men (age M = 59.34, SD = 3.46), BMI M = 35.8 (SD = 2.9). All subjects had been admitted to an obesity management clinic which organizes weight loss programs which teach patients to make healthy lifestyle choices with the assistance of an interdisciplinary team of experts, including a dietician, physician, psychologist, physiotherapists and physical education trainers. All the selected participants agreed to participate in the study. They gave verbal consent to participate and the study was approved by the University of Warmia and Mazury Ethics Committee for Scientific Research, Olsztyn, Poland (ethical code number: 1/2017). The experiment included three groups (each n = 34) of obese individuals: (1) an experimental group subjected to priming for fattening food, (2) an experimental group subjected to priming for healthy food, and (3) a control group subjected to neutral priming with images unrelated to slimming (landscapes, pictures of nature, etc.). Participants were randomly assigned to experimental groups. We used images of fattening and healthy food, as well as sets of neutral images (unrelated to food). Experimental group 1 was primed for fattening food with the sets of images of fattening food used previously in Study I. Experimental group 2 was primed for healthy food with six sets of images, each containing six images of healthy-looking food. The appropriateness of these images was also tested for this study by competent referees. The control group was subject to neutral priming with six sets of images, each containing six neutral images completely unrelated to food or slimming, such as landscapes or pictures of nature. The independent variables included gender and group: (1) experimental group: priming fatteningfood; (2) experimental group: priming diet food; and (3) control group: neutral priming.The dependent variable was a behavioural one. After the experiment, each participant chose a snack: healthy or fattening. The choice of healthy versus fattening snack was based on the selection of one food product from a list containing items such as chocolate, apples, carrots, cakes, grapefruits and crisps. The calorie content of these products was determined with the use of relevant reference tables. Obese individuals participating in the program (i.e., those with the goal of slimming) were examined individually. The experiment took place after the end of the two-week weight-loss program in the obesity management clinic. Initially, as in Study I, we kept our participants ignorant of the true objective of the study, informing them that they were participating in an experiment determining the influence of cognitive processes on performing various