B E T T E R H E A L T H
O u t
t o
d i n n e r
w
i t h
B r i a n
W
a n s i n k
D o n ’ t
b e
s w a y e d
b y
m e n u
m a g i c .
F o o d s
w i t h
e n t i c i n g l y
d e s c r i p t i v e
n a m e s —
l i k e
“ h o m e s t y l e
t h r e e -
c h e e s e
l a s a g n a ” —
e a r n
h i g h e r
m a r k s
f r o m
r e s t a u r a n t
p a t r o n s t h a n
i d e n t i c a l
f o o d s
l i s t e d
i n
p l a i n
t e r m
s .
The science of
restaurant reflexes
G ranted, overeating can happen anyw here,
b u t d in in g out com es w ith special hazards.
Read on as C ornell U niversity food
psychologist Brian W ansink serves up
su rp risin g insights from his research.
MENU EXTRAS MAKE US ORDER MORE
B etw een th e w ine list, ap p etizers, en trees,
side dishes, and d esserts, a re sta u ra n t
m enu offers endless variety. Rein it in w ith
W ansink’s rule o f tw o: O nce you’ve picked
your en tree, lim it y o u rself to tw o ex tras, such
as an ap p etizer and a cocktail o r a roll and a
d essert. O therw ise, you m ight find y o u rself
saying yes to so m eth in g in every category.
UNNATURAL LIGHTING
LOWERS OUR DEFENSES
In dim ly lit re sta u ra n ts, d in e rs te n d to
linger, upping th e odds th e y ’ll o rd e r an
u n p la n n e d d e ss e rt o r an e x tra glass o f w ine.
M eanw hile, people in b rig h tly lit e a te rie s
te n d to gobble th e ir food quickly, going
o v erb o ard b efo re th e y rea liz e th e y ’re full.
W an sin k ’s advice: N o m a tte r w h at ty p e o f
re s ta u ra n t y o u ’re in, ta k e a full
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m in u tes
to enjoy y o u r m eal—th a t’s how long th e
body n eed s to re g iste r fu lln ess. T h en assess
w h e th e r y o u ’re really h u n g ry fo r m ore.
WE TAKE AFTER OUR TABLEMATES
D ining w ith one o th e r p erso n can increase
y o u r calorie in tak e by
3 5
p ercen t versus
ea tin g alone, says W ansink, citin g research
co n d u cted by fo rm er G eorgia S tate
U niversity psychologist John De C astro . D ine
w ith a gro u p o f th re e , and th a t n u m b er ju m p s
to
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p ercen t. W ansink p a rtly a ttrib u te s th is
to e tiq u e tte : W e d o n ’t w an t to p u sh aw ay o u r
plates before o th e rs at th e tab le are finished.
To avoid o v ereatin g , try to be th e last p erso n
to dig in, and reserv e a few bites on y o u r
plate in case you finish first and w an t to
su sta in a polite nibble.
A FANCY PLATE ENHANCES OUR PLEASURE
People c o n siste n tly ra te food as ta s tin g
b e tte r w hen it’s p re se n te d on nice ch in a
v ersu s a hum ble p a p e r p late o r napkin. So
try n o t to g et sw ept aw ay by th a t “a m a z in g ”
b ro w n ie at d e sse rt. A nd b e a r in m ind th a t
people te n d to eat a t least
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p e rc e n t o f w h at
th e y have in fro n t o f th e m — no m a tte r how
big th e p late m ay be. C o n sid er sh arin g an
e n tre e , o rd e rin g a h a lf p o rtio n , o r asking th e
se rv e r to pack up h a lf to go.
A CLEAN TABLE CONFUSES THE STOMACH
In one stu d y W ansink co n d u cted , v o lu n teers
helped th em selv es to chicken w ings at an
all-y o u -can -eat buffet. As people ate, th ey
d iscard ed bones in em p ty bow ls placed upon
th e ir tab les. H ere’s th e tw ist: W aiters w ere
in stru c te d to bus only som e tab les, w hile
allow ing bones to pile up on th e o th ers. In
th e end, v o lu n teers w hose tab les w ere b ussed
ate
2 8
p ercen t m ore because th e y lacked a
visual rem in d er o f w h at th ey had eaten . As
y o u r dishes are cleared b etw een co u rses, do
a quick m en tal tally so you d o n ’t lose track .
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BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS |
MARCH
2011
BHG.COM
