Be Mindful to Prevent Overeating

Your eyes can be the enemy of your stomach, according to food psychologist Brian Wansink, the author of the book Mindless Eating.   The trick is to be mindful and aware when eating.

Wansink says that visual cues can lead to increased consumption, and the body's internal cues can't be trusted to signal when its full.

"The lesson is, don't rely on your stomach to tell you when you are full," says Wansink.  "It can lie."

The Cornell researcher described an experiment in which moviegoers were given popcorn in large or extra-large containers.  He found that those with extra-large containers ate 45 percent more popcorn than those with the regular size.

In another experiment, Wansink constructed a "bottomless bowl."  The first group of subjects was given a normal bowl, and the second, a bowl researchers secretly refilled from the bottom through a pressure-fed tube.  Those with the refilling bowl told researchers were not even aware that they had eaten 73 percent more soup that the first group.


 

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