Buffet layouts could influence what we eat

Conclusion The main thing this study shows is not surprising – people take what is offered to them. If a hungry person is presented with fruit they will likely take it while they have the chance – perhaps not seeing what will be offered later in the line – similarly if they are presented with fried breakfast options they will likely take them. Especially if you are told you are not going to get the chance to come back and take them again, as the people in this study were. It seems fairly obvious that you will then select other items that will go with what you have already taken. An interesting extension to the research would be to ensure that people were not able to see what item was next to be presented so that they definitely didn’t know that healthy, or less healthy options, would be coming further down the line. The idea that serving healthy foods at a buffet first could "help make us slim by design" would be all well and good if all of our meals were presented to us each day at a buffet. As the majority of us attend buffets rather infrequently, they are unlikely to have much influence on population overweight and obesity. Though using this method in environments where buffet lunches are a regular fixture, such as schools or colleges, could have some impact on health. The researchers suggest that this idea of presenting healthy options first could extend into different contexts – such as when serving or passing food at family dinners. Though ultimate...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Food/diet Source Type: news