Too much exposure to fast-food advertisements and logos distracts people making them impatient, according to a University of Toronto study.

The researchers said that when individuals see too many symbols of fast food or related billboards, it affects their mindset. It reduces their attention span and ability to appreciate aesthetic objects and enjoy life's simple and everyday pleasures, such as a sunset or a melody.

The research team led by the University of Toronto's Sanford DeVoe states that the symbols 'undermines people's ability to experience happiness from savoring pleasurable experiences,' Salon reported.

"It is ironic that technologies designed to improve well-being by minimizing time spent on mundane chores may ultimately undermine the surplus leisure time they permit," the researchers wrote, according to Psypost. "By instigating a sense of impatience, these technologies may prevent people from savoring the enjoyable moments life offers serendipitously."

For the study, DeVoe and his colleagues Julian House and Chen-Bo Zhong conducted a series of experiments. In the first experiment, 257 participants (average age 35) were asked to look at a series of photographs. Two of the five pictures were food items and the rest displayed a cup of coffee, a hamburger and French fries. Half of the participants saw these items in ceramic tableware and the other half saw them presented in 'standard McDonald's packaging.'

Later, participants were asked to rate their happiness on a scale of seven. However, one half was asked to directly rate their happiness and the other half was shown 10 pictures of natural beauty before giving the rating.

The researchers found that participants who looked at the photos reported higher levels of happiness. Among those who had seen the fast-food logos felt less happy than those who had seen the generic food photos.

"This reveals that fast food ... impairs individuals' savoring of pleasant stimuli," the researchers wrote.

In the second experiment, participants viewed the same five images of food but some of them were made to listen to 86 seconds of 'The Flower Duet' from opera Lakmé.

Those who had listened to the music and seen the neutral food images thought that the music had lasted longer than it did, while those who had seen the McDonalds food in its official packaging reacted less positively to the music and were less patient.

"As a ubiquitous symbol of an impatient culture, fast food not only impacts people's physical health but may also shape their experience of happiness in unexpected ways," the researchers said, Daily Mail UK reports.

The research has been published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.