You too would eat stale popcorn.
Did you just read the above statement and think: Stale popcorn? Not me.
Under the right circumstances, you most probably would be eating this popcorn right alongside your fellow nay-sayers. This is the way of mindless eating.
But before we get to the bigger issue of mindless eating, let’s talk about this popcorn.
Brian Wansink, PhD, directs the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and undertook the popcorn study.
He took movie house popcorn and stored it for five days, until it was good and stale (but still safe to eat). He then handed out this popcorn for free to anyone who purchased a ticket for an early matinee showing of the film “Payback” at certain Chicago area cinemas. The popcorn came in two sizes: medium and large, and were randomly distributed.
At the end of the film, moviegoers completed short surveys and handed them in with their popcorn containers.
Researchers weighed each container to determine how much popcorn had been consumed and used this information in conjunction with the surveys to obtain their results.
And what did they find?
People who were given the large buckets ate an average of 173 more calories than the people who had the medium sized buckets – approximately 53%, or 21 more dips into the container.
And yet what did these large container people report on their surveys?
When asked whether they felt that the larger sized container would induce them to eat more, a vast majority felt that the size of the container hadn’t influenced their popcorn intake.
What is the moral of this tale? One, even if untasty, if food is available, it will quite probably be eaten. And two, the size of the food container does matter. And three, we are not very good at noticing what influences our food choices.
That’s why I’m so glad that Brian does this research.
This study epitomizes the principles of mindless eating, the invisible environmental cues that play unacknowledged roles in how much and what we eat.
And let’s face it – we could use all of the knowledge about environment cues that we can get, as our portion sizes get bigger and more calorie-laden than ever before.
But don’t just take my word for it. Dr. Wansink also conducted a study that involved the cookbook Joy of Cooking.
I imagine you might own a copy of this cookbook . . . I do. But even if you don’t, chances are that one of your family members does.
This study is one that you can pass directly along to your patients, helping them understand that there’s concrete evidence backing up our professional recommendations.
While this particular experiment focused on Joy of Cooking, this cookbook isn’t the only culprit. This study is just one of approximately 700 food psychology studies that Dr. Wansink has conducted.
For more concrete techniques that we can directly apply to our patients, helping them to change their eating habits with little effort, check this out.
What suggestions have you given your patients for combating the increase in serving size and calories of today’s dishes? Please leave a comment below.
I truly enjoyed your amazing web site. Be sure to keep it up. Could god bless you !!!!
It’s great to find an expert who can explian things so well
Paige- As I already know, you’ve got some great info. in this proagrm. I eat well and exercise regularly. BUT my body has still changed obviously. What I’m doing now thanks to the Hicks- is visualizing and experiencing something in my life that I want. Guess what? I want a FLAT STOMACH. NO JOKE!! Need I say more?Ahhh .and since I start visualizing this past week, I swear that I feel like I am carrying myself differently. If it’s the placebo effect, it is starting to work on me! As always, you inspire. xxoo-FranFran Sorin recently posted..
meg: where is the website for ‘kale’ salad recipe? please? thank you..
The interesting fact about Joy of Cooking recipe book is that even though the recipes are ”rich” the fact is ”people over eat” 2nd servings. supersize for just a few cents more…. Right now there is a search and many are running with information on ‘Centenerians’ who live to 100 + and the discovery is… they eat very little….
One fact to remember is: digestion takes more energy than climbing some tall mountain. this overworking the system ages us by using up too much energy. another fact to remember is: the less we eat the less we work in digesting the foods thus making sure that we choose nutrient dense calorie restricted meals. and the last fact is; sleep plays a major role in this.
While we sleep we repair, heal, rejuvenate. So it’s not so much the Joy of Cooking It’s what we do with it. Preparing rich foods and not overeating or supersizing should be the emphasis.
To healthy future; yeah that future is here and it’s now. DO THE ‘JOY OF COOKING’ don’t overeat.
Oh and always eat dessert first ! Joz
I think it’s absolutely true that eating habits/patterns have changed drastically over the years. The example you gave is incredible.
I’ve seen the Joy of Cooking pointed out as a belly-buster before, and while there certainly are lots of recipes that are high-fat (the cake chapter alone is a wonder), we like to think that inventive cooks will tailor things to their diets. The book has changed considerably over the years, in some ways for the better. Not so many gelatin-based salads nowadays, ditto the “variety meats” (which are very nutritious, but also very high in fat). And we also have a nutrition chapter (which, owing to the size of the book, most people probably don’t take the time to read, but it’s there).
Simply put, the JOY doesn’t promote any single food philosophy. That’s not what we’re about. We provide cooks with information and ideas, and let them do the rest. We feel very strongly about childhood obesity (and obesity in general for that matter). We simply feel that the choice of what to put in one’s body is up to the individual.
Yes, try the kale salad. It’s truly delicious. And local, organic lacinato kale is definitely the way to go for that one. Tastier and fresher.
Take care. Be well.
It’s a common misconception that eating fat and cholesterol makes you fat and causes heart disease. It might surprise you to know that the idea that fat/cholesterol are unhealthy is actually just an unproven theory. (Don’t believe me? Watch “The Oiling of America” and see for yourself).
Cookbooks during the 1800s had enormous amounts of saturated fats and natural cholesterol and people were much thinner and had fewer chronic diseases (people mostly died from infectious diseases back then). Eating foods that are high in “pastured” animal fat/cholesterol are actually very healthy (fat and organs are where all the vitamins are stored in mammals). These high-fat and nutrient-dense foods allowed people to be more satiated and eat smaller servings.
In fact, the entire idea of “low fat” foods was dreamed up by Senator George McGovern who published ”Dietary Goals for the United States” at the urging of food manufacturers who wanted to sell processed foods to people (as opposed to nutritious farm animals). There was no science involved in those recommendations. Supporting studies were manufactured to fit the recommendations. The “low fat” recommendations have turned out to be a disaster.
Fast forward to today and now nearly 1/4 Americans are considered obese. We would all do a lot better if we went back to eating the high fat foods of 1931 (and earlier). The best advice I can give anyone is to watch “The Oiling of America” on YouTube to learn why the seemingly “unhealthy” vintage cookbooks are actually was more nutrient-dense and safer than modern “low fat” cookbooks.
Eating natural animal fat doesn’t make you fat or diseased. That is a myth.
Hi Meg and others:
I did not sense that Joy of Cooking was being singled out. I have several versions of it and it is one of my go-to cookbooks. I do think that the recipes have changed over the years to accomodate societal changes pertaining to convenience, popular foods choices and portions.
I have a personal example of how our eating has changed and it pertains to our children. I have my father’s babybook from 1931 and his diet included white turnips, parsnip, peanut butter with grated raw carrot, romaine, escarole, dandelion, pot cheese, rhubarb, beets, eggplant, buckleberries, dates, rye and pumpernickel bread and flax seed. These were all “prescribed” and typed up by his doctor’s office and were from when he was 8 months old to 2 years old. I recall interviewing pediatricians prior to my older son’s birth 22 years ago and being told by one that if I was planning on “making” my son’s food myself instead of using Gerbers brand baby food, then she could not take him on as a patient. I did not select that doctor and did makes my son’s food for the most part. I thought I was giving him a broad variety until I saw my father’s selection!!
Meg: I took a look at your website, look forward to trying the kale salad and I am with Barbara about fresh, organic produce, nothing like it.
This is not the first time the Joy of Cooking has been singled out for “facilitating obesity.” However, this accusation is absolutely unfair. First, many overweight or obese individuals rely largely upon processed foods for their nutrition. Those of us who do cook are bombarded by cookbooks, food blogs, and crowd-sourced recipe sites that usually feature fat-laden recipes (comfort food has certainly seen a resurgence since the start of the recession), but the Joy of Cooking is only one cookbook. How many other cookbooks on the market feature high-calorie, high-fat recipes? I suppose it is convenient that the Joy of Cooking has been around since 1931, making it easier to study in terms of the way the recipes have changed.
There happen to be many healthy recipes in the book, and many recipes can be altered to be more healthy if the cook desires. The authors of the book have chosen up to this point not to bombard their readers with nutritional dogma in the thinking that the book is there to inform its readers, not determine lifestyle choices for them. We present all recipes in an unbiased fashion so that the cook may choose for him or herself what is appropriate for their family/diet/lifestyle. Which recipes an individual chooses is up to them
The Joy of Cooking also provides a chapter on nutrition, which is up to date. The recommended portion size for a serving of meat is listed as “3 ounces,” which is a reasonable amount of meat. The number of servings listed for each recipes is a rough guideline, not a number set in stone. Again, the discretion of the diner is key here.
Not only has the Joy changed since 1931, but our lifestyles have changed as well, and probably more dramatically than the recipes in the Joy of Cooking. Ultimately, most of us know what it means to eat healthfully, and whether or not we do so is our choice. Whether or not we exercise is our choice. When will personal responsibility take the place of easy blame?
Must admit my eyes cross a bit when I start reading about b/g levels,carbs, et al…just doesn’t sound like good, tasty food to me. We are blessed to live in a part of the country with excellent local organic farms and are enjoying a summer of fresh produce which is picked on Friday, washed, bagged and delivered to our pick up point on Saturday am for us to eat the next week. Have re-discovered how wonderful fresh, clean, pesticide-free food tastes and more importantly satisfies even with minimal prep and very few calories. Exploring new recipes (who knew we would love the beet greens so much?!), losing weight, growing older and feeling healthier by the day has never been more fun! Looking forward to hearing Dr. W…and as always, thanks again!
Everybody seems to talk about a range of calories intake for meals, but hardly ever start with carbs. Based on an assessment of their body Weight, Exercise and Activity level, and other health goals you can come up with a carb range for meals – but leave calories out of it. Sedentary folks usually do fine with 30-45 grams of carbs per meals, and more active folks with 45-60 grams of carbs. Encourage keeping a food log for a few days, noting the amount of calories consumed at meals as well as their B/G levels. When they come back for follow-up, this information provides a great starting point for a planning a calorie/carb/healthy food choice program, you can often tweak mealtime carb ranges a bit to meet the need.
Once Blood Glucose levels are established, then if someone says they want to lose weight and are frustrated at lack of weight loss, you can then begin to talk about ACTIVITY, identify why they’re eating or snacking so often, even if they are not hungry! THEN you may begin to note how MUCH they’re eating (people often don’t know how to identify when they’re just beginning to be satisfied). Calories of course are part of this discussion, but often not the only item one should target.
Whenever I start to feel a little usanee in my body, even if it’s the slightest tinge of nausea, I immediately assess the foods I have been eating recently and usually I’m able to identify something that it would have been best for me not to eat or something I ate too much of. I’ve been pretty good at ruthlessly cutting those out of my diet.Chris Edgar recently posted..