Stuffed

Do we subconsciously overeat?

By Rachel Yuen

Americans are rapidly growing—from side to side that is. The percentage of obese adults in the United States went from 15 percent in the late 1970s to 33 percent by 2004 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With so many Americans gaining so much weight, some scientists are questioning whether overeating is an unconscious decision.

“Most of us don’t overeat because we’re hungry. We overeat because of family and friends, packages and plates, names and numbers,” writes Brian Wansink on his Web site, www.mindlesseating.org. Wansink is the director of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab and contends that factors such as lights, colors, shapes, smells, distractions and containers can subconsciously urge people to eat more.

Recent studies have illustrated common judgment lapses when it comes to food consumption. A Pennsylvania State University study demonstrated that people will eat more food when it is placed in front of them. In the study, 51 men and women were given once-a-week laboratory lunches of macaroni and cheese and the portions varied from 2.5 cups to 5 cups. When offered larger portions, participants ate 30 percent more than those who were offered smaller portions.

Easy access to food also has caused Americans to pack on the pounds. “The food environment has changed in the past 20 to 30 years in that food is sold in more venues, served in larger portion sizes, and that highly palatable food is inexpensive,” says University of Minnesota food science and nutrition professor, Marla Reicks.

“We evolved when food was scarce, so our drive to overeat was useful then, but not of value now,” says Joanne Slavin, a University of Minnesota professor of food science and nutrition.

Wansink suggests that people can avoid subconscious overeating by being aware of “danger zones,” which are scenarios that make it easy to overeat: meal stuffing, snack grazing, party binging, restaurant indulging and desktop dining.