People Make More Daily Food Decisions
Than They Think

While people estimate that they make about 15 food and beverage decisions each day, they actually make more than 200 such choices, Cornell University researchers say.

Their study, published in the January issue of Environment and Behavior, surveyed 139 Cornell staff and students to estimate how many decisions they make about food each day.

"So many food decisions are made on mindless autopilot," Brian Wansink, Cornell Professor of Marketing and of Applied Economics, said in a prepared statement.

"It's really easier than we think to let small things around us -- plate size, package size, people around us, distractions -- influence these 200-plus decisions, because we are not aware of them in the first place," Wansink said.

Instead of trying to obsess over food decisions, people should change the environment so that it works for them. Such as:

• Use smaller bowls.
• Avoid eating directly from the package.
• Bank your calories(e.g., skip the appetizer if you want to indulge in dessert).
• Dine next to the slowest eater at the table.
• Eat the foods you love but in smaller portions.
• Pick two of the following: appetizer, drink or dessert.
• Fill half your plate with vegetables, and the other half with protein and starch.
• Keep tempting treats out of sight.
• Sit at least an arm's length away from the buffet table or snack bowl.