Bottomless Bowls

WHY is it that larger portions = larger consumption.

This GREAT article, from Dr. Brian Wansink, used self-refilling bowls to see how portions create consumption.

I love psychologists because they’re so sneaky. They gave one group of subjects soup bowls that, slowly and imperceptibly, refilled as their contents were consumed.

Outcomes:
The people who were unknowingly eating from self-refilling bowls ate more soup than those eating from normal soup bowls. Here’s the kicker — even though they ate a whopping 73% more soup, they did not believe they had consumed more, nor did they perceive themselves as more sated than those eating from normal bowls.

If you see it, you will eat it. More food in front of you = more consumption.

Unintentional Portion Distortion: How do you head this off?

• Serve your food on smaller plates.
• Start small, and plan on going back if you are still hungry.
• At restaurants, ask for the To-Go box with the meal.