A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The researchers, from Cornell University, reviewed hundreds of articles on eating behavior and found that among many subconscious environmental cues that influence what and how much we eat, portion size is among the most powerful. As portion sizes have increased, so has the amount people tend to eat.
“Food choice is an illusion,” wrote David Levitsky, professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology at Cornell, who co-authored the article with graduate student Carly Pacanowski.
They found that a complex combination of factors influenced our food choices, including portion size, variety of foods offered, fat content of the diet, the number of people eating, location, and exposure to food advertising. These all act as ‘food primes’, which cause people to increase their energy intake.
“In combination, these factors are so powerful that, unless we are restrained by surgery or structured eating plans, or by a dedication to prevent future weight gain (restrained eating), we become vulnerable to all stimuli presented, mostly by commercial interests who have learned to effectively use these techniques to encourage us to eat a little more,” they wrote.
The paper claims that such a food environment has emerged since the 1980s, when rates of obesity began to accelerate in the United States. Per capita caloric intake has increased by about 9-30 calories a day since then.
“An individual’s decision to eat is not a result of personal weakness, but rather is determined, to a great extent, by the many environmental cues that have emerged since the early 1980s as a consequence of the commercialization of food,” they wrote.
The authors acknowledge that personal responsibility does play a role, but advocate using it in the context of collective responsibility to change our food environment in order to tackle obesity – and to reject the notion that people are entirely free to choose what they eat.
They wrote: “If we add our personal responsibility to resist food cues to the collective responsibility of government to control the many food signals in our environment…we may amass the power, and the will, to curb the epidemic of obesity.”
The paper is available online here .
9 comments (Comments are now closed)
Not Easy, But Possible.
I am a Registered Dietitian and have done"weight loss" counseling for 30 years. BEFORE we blamed everything on environment, overweight clients had most of the same bad eating habits that clients have now. Sugar, Fat, Processed foods. NO EXERCISE. Walking 30 min a day and sitting the rest is pretty much comatose.
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Posted by Donna Marlor
27 November 2011 | 02h23
How to lose weight? Stop eating junk...!
I eat fast food every day until last year, then I stopped! I now eat more fruit and veg and only have the occasional soda. In 12 months I've lost 35lbs simply by changing my diet - not through exercise, I used to be hungry all of the time now I'm not... The more fat and sugar we consume - the more we want - we just need to learn to say NO.
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Posted by Les Bailey
26 November 2011 | 00h38
Turn the TV OFF. Then COOK YOUR OWN FOOD
Agreed. People have a million excuses for why they can't lose weight, but everyone can walk and cook their own foods. We even grow some of our own food. When people tell me they can't afford fresh fruit and vegetables (but they can afford Pizza,sodas & chips -and of course cable TV) I look at them and ask them if they have a backyard. If they say they do, I tell them they can plant a fruit tree, blackberries, tomatoes,etc., and in this climate you often only have to plant them Once.
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Posted by Lynn Maarouf,MS,RD,CDE
23 November 2011 | 17h02
Victims of ourselves.
Restaurants began serving larger portions in order to compete. People go where they perceive better value for their money. More food=better value, yes?
+1 for personal responsibility! Driving to work while eating a cheese danish has zip to do with influences outside yourself. Not engaging in exercise and eating comfort foods is a choice. Pushing your plate away is a choice. Jeeez! Or are we just mindless automatons controlled by marketing and culture? Puh-lease!
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Posted by Eric
23 November 2011 | 16h58
Really?
Here's what works. Turn off the TV. Stop eating in restaurants and fast food joints, don't buy your coffee in Starbucks. Don't buy pre-prepared food products in the grocery store. Read labels. Learn to cook, and eat real food prepared in your own home. Get some exercise. 49 years old, 5'6", 126 lb female. It can be done, not really hard at all.
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Posted by lifeonmars
23 November 2011 | 16h15
Misunderstanding?
I didn't see any mention of restaurants. I'm so glad, DA, that you have never gained weight, obviously you are more righteous and worthy than 66.6% of the population. Even if one tries to eat healthy, unless you're a hermit, you're not going to be very successful. With or without restaurants.
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Posted by jt
22 November 2011 | 00h43
Believe It!
"Personal responsibility does play a role", but the truth is that our environment should make healthy choices easy to make instead of making poor choices the default. BTW, I think we have seen how individual choice has contributed to the overall physical health of our nation.
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Posted by VegasRD
18 November 2011 | 21h55
misunderstanding
The authors seem to imply that restaurants have an interest in huge servings, while clearly economically they would be better to serve less. They serve more due to demand, not some nefarious plan to make people eat more. And, if you just eat at home and actually cook your own food - gasp - you have full control of the food and the surrounding stimuli.
In that case, buying smaller plates for the household is definitely a good idea because the size of plate does impact how much food you think you need.
BTW, you'll notice that most buffet/AYCE restaurants use the small plate strategy to reduce how much you eat, they have to interest in encouraging you to eat more.
While it is true that stimuli such as plate size is a powerful impact on how much food we think we should eat, drawing a conclusion that restaurants are trying to trick people into eating bigger servings ignores the economic realities of the industry. (Think, people, think!)
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Posted by Jeff
18 November 2011 | 18h44
Unbelievable!
Seriously...mind control?!
When I see "all you can eat," I automatically think, "all you can weigh." When I see "super-size" I automatically add "me!" to it. No, I'm not wearing an aluminum foil hat. Hello! -- it's called personal responsibility. What happened to "my body, my choice"?
It's equal parts sad and shocking that these authors suggest that in this information age, people are unable to figure out what to eat and what to avoid, and how to do so. Enough with the victim mentality already!
(And, in case you're wondering, I'm in my mid-40s, my BMI is normal, and I wear a size 6, as I have since high school. And yes, I do eat healthfully, exercise regularly, manage stress, get enough rest, drink lots of water, and generally, consider myself responsible for taking care of myself.)
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Posted by DA
18 November 2011 | 16h47
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