Note to dieters:
If you’re at a buffet and a waiter comes to clear the table of used dishes, you might be better off if you keep the remnants of the roast beef.
The same goes for folks at home. Chances are, if you see reminders of how much you’ve eaten, you won’t be so eager to have that second piece of pumpkin pie.
Cornell University researchers observed fifty graduate students munching chicken wings at a sports bar during the Super Bowl.
Some students sat at tables that were bused, while others had no choice but to rub elbows with leftover chicken-wings.
Partiers who could see how much they had eaten actually consumed twenty-seven percent fewer wings than people who had no visual cues.
Men in particular cut back on the chow when the bones piled up. But generally speaking, people who can see evidence of the food they consume apparently don’t eat as much.
The observations are useful if you want to limit eating and drinking.
The researchers also suggest these environmental caution signs be allowed to accumulate at college parties or in places where alcohol consumption can be a problem.
Stack the empty plastic cups and provide fresh ones for each drink, or keep the empty glasses on bottles on the table. It could help deter overindulgence.
It may be true that the eyes are bigger than the stomach, but apparently if you’re up to your eyeballs in leftovers, your tummy shrinks at the sight.