Mindless Eating-New Clues About Why We Overeat

If someone asked you what you ate for dinner last night, could you tell them? Do you remember what you had for breakfast this morning?

If you can't answer these questions, don't be afraid you're losing your memory. It may just be that you weren't paying attention to what you ate in the first place.

Not noticing what you eat-or, as Cornell University professor Brian Wansink calls it, "Mindless Eating"-isn't necessarily a bad thing. Our lives can get so busy that we can't be expected to notice everything. But eating without thinking can be a problem if it leads to overeating.

Dr. Wansink says that we make more than 200 decisions a day about food, and most of them aren't conscious ones. Those won't all be about eating; they could be choices of what food to buy. And savvy marketers know exactly how to influence our purchases.

One way is by embellishing descriptions. Which sounds like it would taste better-"chocolate cake" or "Belgian black forest double chocolate cake"? The two may not taste any different, but marketers think that the second item will sell better. And they're usually right.

Another way is with the wording on signs. "3 for $3" and "$1 each" may mean the same thing, but the first sign may convince someone to buy more. And if they buy more, there's a good chance they'll eat more, too.

Clever marketing can have an effect on what and how much we buy. But there are ways to influence how much we eat as well. Some of these might include the following:

- the size of the container-People tend to eat more when their food is on a bigger plate.

- the shape of the container-People tend to drink more from short, wide glasses than from tall, thin ones.

- the presence of a distraction-As you might have guessed, eating while watching television usually means eating more.

- the perceived quality of the food-In one of Dr. Wansink's studies, diners in a restaurant who were served wine that they were told was from North Dakota ate less and left earlier than people whose wine was supposedly from California. (The wine, by the way, was the same in both instances.)

- reminders of how much has already been consumed-Students at an "all-you-can-eat" restaurant party ate more chicken wings if the plates with the bones on them were quickly removed from the tables.

You may be wondering if nutrition labels have any effect on eating habits. Dr. Wansink believes that most people are too busy, or too distracted, to read them. It does seem that the information about serving size is being missed. Many people who think they're buying a low-calorie food may not notice that the calorie content on the nutrition label is for a much smaller amount than they normally use. Food labels may also try to capitalize on diet trends, misleading consumers in the process. For example, butter is definitely a "low-carb" food-but that's because it's usually 100% fat!

How can we retrain ourselves to eat less? Well, the best place to start is at home-or more accurately, with the food you buy to eat at home. Ask yourself if you really need to buy all three of the "3 for $3" items. And start checking a few nutrition labels here and there. Pay special attention to the serving size. It'll probably be smaller than you thought.

Here are a few tips to avoid overeating at home:

- Use smaller containers.

- Consider the entire meal, not just its parts. A healthy entree is a good start, but an oversized dessert can detract from its benefits.

- If you're snacking on something in individual wrappers, don't throw out the wrappers right away. Keep them visible as a reminder of how many pieces you've eaten.

If you have a tendency to overeat in special situations, keep those in mind, too:

- If you're at work, stop eating at your desk. And if you spend a lot of time on a computer, get up and eat somewhere else.

- If you're dining out, pay attention to the size of the plate. If it's big, don't try to eat everything on it.

- If you're at a party, move away from the snacks, buffet table, or kitchen after you've eaten.

Some people have serious weight problems that may need more attention, or even medical supervision. But if you simply have a tendency to overeat sometimes, and can trace it back to one of these "triggers," try making a small change to your shopping or eating habits. It may be just enough to get you on the road to healthier, more sensible eating.