I got the book Mindless Eating–Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansick, Ph.D. at the library last week and gobbled it up right away. It was a really fascinating read.
Wansick is a behavioral scientist with a cool lab in which he studies people’s food habits. The book is full of interesting studies he and his people have done that show that we think we know ourselves but our behaviors say otherwise.
There were studies to show that most people have no idea was a real portion size is or how many calories they actually eat in a day. How the size of our dishes make us eat more than we think, that we will eat food that doesn’t even taste good if it is available (there was a study done where theater goers were given free containers of popcorn, some medium, some large. They didn’t know that it was 5 days old. People still ate it; those with the larger containers ate more, even though everyone said it wasn’t good.), and buying in bulk can be a bad idea unless you are very diligent in repackaging.
There was the information about how lighting, atmosphere, and even menu descriptions change how much we eat. This can of course work to one’s benefit if healthy foods are the focus. For example, people are more likely to eat Grandma’s Famous Pot Roast than they are beef and potatoes, or golden corn than corn.
One of the most interesting studies was one he did with the U.S. Army. Soldiers were in the dark (no light) and were given what they were told was strawberry yogurt. After they ate it, they gave the testers their impressions of the yogurt. Some reported that it had great flavor or that it was the best strawberry yogurt they had ever had. Except that itwasn’t strawberry yogurt, it was chocolate. The point was, if we think something will taste a certain way and we can’t see otherwise, we will taste what we expect.
Related to this was the point that if we associate healthy food as tasting bad or not as good as our favorite foods, that is what we are likely to experience. Hence kids look at their green veggies and already “know” they won’t like it and when they taste it, they gag.
There is really so much cool and interesting stuff that I cannot do it justice. Read it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. And you’ll think about things you never did before.
Also, the book is not at all dry-scientific-y. He has a sense of humor and writes for the lay person. Warnick gives tips too on how to make small, painless changes in eating habits, some of which I plan to incorporate around here.
I’m amazed that in the army test they couldn’t tell the difference between chocolate and strawberry. Must be a girl thing!
Comment by Anita — June 12, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
I saw this guy on TV once. It was SO interesting! I saw the yogurt test. (I think this one was done in an office.) It’s true! Everyone assumed it was chocolate!
I am glad you posted this because I now have his book on hold at the library and look forward to looking at it. Thanks!
Comment by Brandi — June 12, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
oops…everyone assumed it was strawberry
Comment by Brandi — June 12, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Anita–I know, but some of them were girls!
Brandi–I kept thinking I wouldn’t make the same “mistake”, but I prolly would.
I didn’t mention the associations we still carry from childhood about what we find “good” or not. I’m still pondering that from my own experience.
Comment by lady laura — June 12, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
I’m still having a hard time believing that they couldn’t tell the difference between chocolate & strawberry yogurt! I’d like to try that test. The only thing I can think of is that it was really bad yogurt and no one could tell the difference between any flavors.
Really, chocolate? I would think chocolate would be easy to recognise. It’s a staple in my diet like coffee.
But the rest of the psychological stuff is interesting. I’ve heard also that another reason kids might not eat their veggies is that most often the pieces are too large in proportion to their size and it’s intimidating to them.
Comment by Anita — June 13, 2007 @ 6:48 am
I can’t remember exactly, but they went about it like, “which of these strawberry yogurts tastes the best?” Not, “Is this strawberry yogurt?” But, I agree, it is weird!
Comment by Brandi — June 13, 2007 @ 9:28 am