Avoid Overindulging at Buffets, Eat Fruits First

Overindulging at buffets can be prevented if people eat fruits first, a recent study finds.

Dieters are found to experience defeat when invited to buffets because they typically overindulge and forget their goals. But a team of U.S researchers say that putting healthy foods such as fruits and yogurt at the front of a buffet can encourage people to choose them instead of high-fat, fried meals. This results to dieters consuming fewer calories and eating less fatty foods later on.

If dieters start their buffet meals with junk foods, they are more likely to eat more food over the course of the meal by 31 percent compared to those who opt to start their meals with healthier food variants. Researchers Dr. Brian Wansink and Dr. Andrew Hanks at Cornell University say that the first food items people encountered at buffets make up two-thirds of their plate.

They invited people to a conference and asked them to line up in front of a seven-item breakfast buffet. There were two separate tables arranged in an opposite order. On one table were cheesy eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, low-fat granola, low-fat yogurt and fruits. The other table was reversed so fruits and yogurt were served first and cheesy eggs were found last.

The 124 attendees were randomly assigned to choose their breakfast from one of the two tables and were informed that they could only make one trip to the buffet line. Researchers found that the order of the foods really affected their participant's choice. 86.4 percent of the attendees took fruits when it was offered first but only 54.8 took fruits when it was offered last. In the same way, 75.4 percent of attendees took cheesy eggs when it was offered first but only 28.8 percent took them when they were offered last.