How the mind reasons the appropriateness of each of our decisions is an enigma. Many processes are managed depending on stimulias science has been confirming since the last century. A decision that may seem as arbitrary and superficial as choose dishes from a menu has important consequences for health and in it The order in which we see each dish influences. This has been confirmed by a scientific team from the University of Arizona.
The research in question has focused on two scenarios: a cafeteria and food delivery orders. For the participants, sight and the order in which they saw each of the foods played an important role. In the study, dessert came first. “Diners who chose the healthier dessert may have thought they had already done a good deed for their bodies and that They deserved higher-calorie foods later in the cafeteria“explains Martin Reimann, one of the lead researchers.
The key is where the dessert is on the buffet
This scientific team has confirmed two important parameters about our interaction with food: on the one hand, access to more and less healthy options and, on the other hand, the order of presentation when we are physically in front of a buffet or in the virtual environment to order at home. Thus, the first food we see is fundamental, to the point that it marks subsequent food choices.
In the cafeteria experiment, they found that when the buffet featured dessert first with several optionsthe diner who chooses the most caloric one will then choose the least caloric main dishes. And vice versa, that is, that first decision will balance calorie content menu overview. Hence, seeing a more filling dessert and choosing it first can lead us to be more aware of what we eat, it may not be such a bad idea.
The team confirmed that these dynamics were replicated in other contexts, such as ordering food at home on websites through a simulator created for this purpose. The conclusion contradicts What we’ve always heard about high-calorie dessertssince this study identifies them as allies to promote healthier eating.
The study has not only shed light from the observational aspect but also the impact of caloric intake has been measured: those people who chose the most caloric dessert first consumed a average 30 percent fewer total calories. For this scientific team, these are results that can be used to promote a diet that is not only less caloric but generally smaller and more sensible.
References
Flores, D., Reimann, M., Castaño, R., & Lopez, A. (2019). If I indulge first, I will eat less overall: The unexpected interaction effect of indulgence and presentation order on consumption. Journal of experimental psychology. Applied25(2), 162–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000210
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