How much you eat and how satiated you feel, is affected by the package of the product and the size of your plate.
We do more than 60% of our shopping unconsciously. Our choices are mostly driven by the location of the product in the supermarket. That’s why Coca Cola pays supermarkets to put their products at eyeheight shelves. Also the packageing of the product such as the food labels, and the music at the supermarket influence our choices.
How much we eat is affected by the package of the product. There has been an enormous increase in the size of packages over the last decades. What used to be a regular Coke is now considered a super small size for example. In a classic experiment with a soup bowl that was glued to the table and could be refilled through an invisible tube, participants would eat as much as 73% more soup without noticing it or feeling more filled up.
Smaller plate, taller glass
We eat more when we are presented more, and we eat less when we are presented less, without significantly affecting our feeling of satiation. This implies that an easy way to control your food intake is to use smaller plates. When we use a smaller plate we eat 22% less calories without being hungry.
When we use tall glasses for soft drinks or for alcohol, we poor 20% less than we would in wide glass despite no actual content difference between a tall and a wide glass. Our brain automatically goes ‘wrong’. This is something to use in your advantage, by only using tall glasses. (Lose weight with this kitchen hack)
Create your own health!©
Reference
Picture retrieved from: Hariharan, Divya & Potluri, Kavitha & Kramer, Holly. (2015). The Western Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease. Current hypertension reports. 17. 529. 10.1007/s11906-014-0529-6.
