Brian Wansink is hiding behind a tiny plate for a very good reason.
He's the researcher behind some of the most surprising findings in recent behavioral science, the most famous of these involving the interaction between plates and bowls and eating behavior.
Specifically, he found that changing the size of dinnerware had a big impact on how much food people will consume.
Small plate, eat less. Big plate, eat more.
Same with bowls (although he conducted a very sneaky bowl experiment that dealt with volume but not size – listen to the interview for details).
And the weird thing was, the experimental subjects swore up and down that they eat when they were hungry, and stopped when they were satisfied – and that the size of the plate or bowl had nothing to do with their decision to stop eating.
Brian got a lot of attention when his book Mindless Eating was published.
Companies like Google brought him in to redesign their cafeterias to promote healthier eating.
His work led to the development of 100-calorie packs of cookies and crackers, and to making bar glasses taller to prevent overfilling.
His research has come under some fire lately, due to concerns over study design and replicability. We discussed the controversy, and the difference between theory and practice, and how science should proceed to sort out the battle of ideas.
But mostly we discussed his insights as they apply to you and me, in our everyday lives, and the ways we can take advantage of mindlessness to moderate our consumption and be healthier, leaner, and happier.
We covered:
- Brian's “origin story” selling vegetables door to door in Iowa
- the factors that we don't pay attention to are often the easiest to fix
- embracing the insulting title of “pracademic”
- the amazing endless soup bowl – purpose and invention
- our mistaken belief that we're immune from environmental influences
- how the French know dinner is over vs how people in Chicago know
- “if we knew what the answer would be, we wouldn't call it research”
- natural vs unnatural experiments
- why deprivation diets fail
- even 3 changes is too much for most people
- the 20-second rule
- the Smarter Lunchroom movement of 29,000 schools
- how to prevent ironic blowback – by not noticing you've been influenced
- why food companies can embrace selling less food while still maximizing profits
- why it's hard to replicate Brian's findings in tightly controlled, unnatural experiments
- people are 11% more likely to choose the first item on the buffet line
- people eat less when they're happy
- “say one cool thing that happened to you today” – can change how much the family eats at dinner
- and much more…
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box or audio recording box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink
Slim by Design, by Brian Wansink
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Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.
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