What we see we Eat

Fast Fact of the Week (New Feature): 60% of Americans
think that they are getting enough whole grains in
their diet, but only 5% actually are.

Normally I talk about clinical studies published in
peer-reviewed scientific journals. But, occasionally I
come across an article in the popular literature that I
just can't resist sharing with you.

The article "Under the Influence" in the May 2011 issue
of Nutrition Action is a perfect example.

It is an interview with Dr. Brian Wansink, who has
devoted his career to studying how external clues
influence our eating patterns.

Here are some examples of his studies:

- He gave moviegoers who had just eaten dinner either a
big bag or a small bag of stale popcorn. Those given
the big bag ate 34% more.

- He put clear glass dishes of candy either on a
secretaries desk or 6 feet away on a cabinet. The
secretaries consumed 125 more calories from candy when
it was on their desk.

- He was asked to consult for a cafeteria serving
health food because they weren't attracting enough
customers. He just advised them to change the names of
their menu items (eg "Succulent Tuscany Pasta" instead
of "Italian Pasta"). Sales increased by 27%.

- When he used a refillable soup bowl (it never goes
below half full) people ate 73% more soup than those
given a regular bowl of soup. When he asked the people
with the refillable bowl if they were full, they
replied "How could I be. I only ate half a bowl of
soup".

- When he took a batch of trail mix and labeled some as
"low fat" and some as "regular" people ate 21% to 46%
more calories of the "low fat" trail mix.

- When he showed people an Italian sandwich and told
them that it was from either "Jim's Hearty Sandwich
Shop" or from "Good Karma Healthy Foods", people
estimated the calories as 24% lower if they thought it
came from Good Karma.

- When he took students on a walk around a lake before
dinner, they ate more calories at dinner if they were
told that it was an exercise walk than if they were
told that it was a sight-seeing walk - and most of the
extra calories came from dessert.

And the fascinating thing is that it doesn't matter how
intelligent or well informed you are.

- He did a study with 60 graduate students. Just before
winter break he gave them a lecture on external eating
cues in which he specifically told them that they would
eat more from a big bowl of Chex Mix than from a small
bowl. The students then spent 90 minutes in small group
exercises designed to show them how to overcome
external eating cues.

After winter break he invited those same students to a
Super Bowl party in which he divided them into two
rooms and gave them, you guessed it, either large or
small bowls of Chex Mix. The ones given the large bowls
ate 53% more!

- He gave the same lecture to a meeting of The American
Diabetes Association (Those are the experts) and then
repeated the same experiment with them - and they still
ate more from the large bowls.

So now you know that overeating is mindlessly dependent
on external eating cues, AND that you can't avoid being
influenced by those external clues even if you are
intelligent and motivated!

So what can you do?

Dr. Wansink recommends planning ahead.

- Serve your food on small plates and don't leave food
lying around where you can see it or get to it easily.

- If you bring home a box or bag of snack food
(hopefully healthy snack food), divide it up into
healthy portion sizes as soon as you bring it home.

- Put the healthy food choices in the front of your
refrigerator or cupboard where you will see them easily
and hide the unhealthy foods in the back (or don't
bring them home to begin with).

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen Chaney