Too Close to the Buffet Table = Too Many Calories
September 15, 2008 by Liberty Kontranowski
Filed under Diets and Dieting, Food and Drink, Obesity, Weight Loss
Allow me to piggyback on Liz’s post from earlier today and explore another possible reason for the obesity epidemic (one that’s probably a very likely part of the equation) – The Great American Buffet Table.
According to my local newspaper, there is a new study out which suggests that sitting too close to the buffet table at a restaurant can lead to overeating. They learned some other nifty things when they divided study subjects into an “overweight” group and a “normal” group, too. Take a look:
- Heavy customers sat an average of 14 feet closer to the fixins than the normal group.
- The overweight group was twice as likely to sit facing the buffet, with all its worldly and tantalizing textures and smells.
- The heavy group started filling their plates more quickly, while the normal group sized up the buffet and considered their choices before diving in.
- The heavy group chewed their food faster, thus indicating they ate faster.
- The normal-weight subjects were more likely to choose a smaller plate.
So, what does this mean to you? If calorie counting (or just mindful eating) is on your To-Do list, sit farther from the buffet area, do not face it, choose a smaller plate to fill, and chew your food more slowly. Come to think of it, these same rules can apply to nearly any dining situation. I’m going to give it a try. How about you?
That’s fascinating. Definitely ‘food for thought’. I never go to buffet restaurants so won’t be able to study this phenomenon first hand. Much prefer to sit, order, and be served food than stand in line and have to pick and choose. Even when I was in Las Vegas I avoided the buffets…
Thing is, I think the correlation here may be one of opposite relationship/causality; it’s not sitting closer to the buffet that makes one overweight, but rather, those that are already overweight or predisposed to obesity will make the choices outlined in the study due to underlying psycho/physiological factors.
i agree with sarah, they made the decisions they did because of how they view food- its what the entire meal is based around. The other subjects just didnt place as much emphasis on the food: perhaps they faced the other direction to enjoy their company, and didnt eat as fast because they were talking and having a good time. For some its all about the food, for other’s its all about the experience…guess which one is over weight?
I think taking a different atittude towards the meal is whats going to really make a difference
http://www.groundedfitness.com