Last week, I wrote about all the food decisions and portion control we make each day, so this week, I am following up that train of thought with some questions Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, posed in a release written by Alice Henneman, MS, RD, Nebraska Extension Educator, in her Lancaster County newsletter.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how well you do.\u00a0 Cover up the answers first.\u00a0 No cheating!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
How much more soup did people eat when their soup bowls kept filling up without their knowledge?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A:\u00a0 13%<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 B:\u00a0 53%<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 C:\u00a0 73%<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Answer 1:\u00a0 <\/strong>C.\u00a0 Dr. Wansink rigged up half the soup bowl on a table with hidden hoses attached to it through a hole in the bowl.\u00a0 As people ate the soup, the hoses kept filling the bowls with more soup.\u00a0 After the study, the people with the bottomless soup bowls estimated they ate the same amount as the people eating from the regular bowls.\u00a0 In reality, they ate an average of 73 percent (and 113 calories!) more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It\u2019s important to see the total amount you\u2019re eating.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to overeat when we keep reaching into a bag or container and never see how much we\u2019re really putting into our mouths.\u00a0 As people did with the soup bowl that kept filling, we\u2019re likely to keep eating more than we realize if we keep dipping into a bag.\u00a0 If you\u2019re planning to eat some chips, remove the amount you plan to eat from the bag BEFORE you start eating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n When two glasses had the same capacity, into which glass did people pour the most liquid?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A:\u00a0 Short, wide glass<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 B:\u00a0 Tall, narrow glass<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Answer 2:\u00a0 <\/strong>A.\u00a0 <\/strong>Wansink\u2019s studies showed people drank an average of 25 to 30 percent more from short, wide tumblers than from tall, skinny glasses.\u00a0 The same amount of juice in a tall, skinny glass looks as if the glass is fuller than it does in a short, wide glass. (This reinforces last week\u2019s column about how we eat\/drink with our eyes, so the tall, skinny glass, therefore, looks fuller than the short, squatty one.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n How did the size of the plate or bowl influence people\u2019s perception of the amount when they were offered the same portion size?<\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A: The size of the plate or bowl made no difference in the amount they\u00a0 thought they ate<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 B:\u00a0 People thought they ate more than when they were served on a large plate or\u00a0<\/strong>bowl.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C:\u00a0 People thought they ate more when they were served on a small plate or bowl<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Answer 3:\u00a0 <\/strong>C.\u00a0 <\/strong>Wansink found people perceived they ate more when eating from a smaller plate or bowl.\u00a0 As the size of the dish increased, the size of their servings tended to increase.\u00a0 The larger dish made servings look smaller by comparison, resulting in people helping themselves to more food.\u00a0 For example, people ate an average of 31 percent more ice cream (equal to 137 more calories!) when they scooped ice cream into a 34-ounce bowl vs. a 17-ounce bowl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Changing your \u201ctablescape,\u201d such as the shape of glasses and size of your plates, etc. may be enough to help you significantly reduce your calorie intake.\u00a0 About 72 percent of our calories come from food we eat from bowls, plates, and glasses, according to Wansink\u2019s research.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Container and package size also make a difference, regardless of how the food tastes.\u00a0 In another study, research subjects were fed 5-day-old stale popcorn at the movies in three sizes of containers:\u00a0 \u201cmedium\u201d, \u201clarge\u201d, and \u201cbigger-than-your-head\u201d buckets.\u00a0 Even though the popcorn didn\u2019t taste that great, the biggest bucket, people ate an average of 173 more calories of popcorn than those eating from smaller containers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nQuestion 2<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Question 3<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Changing Your Tablescape<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Container and Package Size<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n