“Fooled by Food”: episode 2

Yesterday the series began.  Information comes directly from CSPI’s April, 2013 edition….

Professor Brian Wansink from Cornell University exposes us to how to avoid being “Fooled by Food”.

• When we choose the “small” size of food/fluid we do not eat less!  The example Wansink offers is as follows.  A person has 2 packages of cookies that are each 20oz.  The first is labeled “small” the second, “medium”.  The person who gets the bag labeled “small” will think that, “Since it’s small, I can eat a lot.  The bag says small, so I’m not overindulging”.  The same package, labeled “medium” or “large” will have less eaten from it.
• Studies show that people actually prefer MEDIUM sizes.  It’s known as the “Golden Mean”.  Here’s how Wansink describes it working:  “If McDonald’s wants people to buy more 12oz soft drinks, they should introduce a new 8oz “small”.  People would then choose the 12oz “medium” more often because they tend to shy away from extreme sizes on either end.
• People do NOT prefer a larger size for value.  Even if all drink sizes cost the same amount of money, 60% will get either a “medium” or a “small”:  most get “medium”.  It is expected that people will take everything that they can get for free.  They don’t.

Next time….  Applying this to home, & more!