“Dear Tricia, I'm an emotional eater. I'm convinced my situation would improve if only my head wasn't spinning a hundred miles a minute. I can't turn it off. I find that the only time I have a respite is when I'm zoning out in front of the TV with a bag of chips or cookies. [...]
In his book Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink relays a story about a particular Midwestern jail, where the sheriff noticed an interesting trend: the inmates would gain 20 – 25 pounds during their 6 month stay. While this weight gain could be attributed to a number of factors, it was unlikely to be the food (prison [...]
Most people, dieters and non-dieters alike, are aware of the fact that the French seem to have more of a handle on their weight than the average American. And we often wonder why. This is a place known for decadent, fattening foods: rich pastries, cakes, cheese, baguettes and heavy cream-based sauces. What gives? According to [...]
Dear Tricia, I'm a 43-year old woman with an eating disorder. I've been bulimic for 25 years now, starting when I was 18. I went to treatment when I was 20, but I still continue to purge. I always thought that I'd grow out of it, or that I'd stop when I became a professional, [...]
During a “wrap party” for 20/20 who shot an episode on food consumption, Brian Wansink (author of Mindless Eating) and other researchers played a trick on the attendants, who were all experts on matters related to food. At the ice-cream social that was held, the researchers gave out either medium-size or large-size bowls to their [...]
We all know people (or we are those people) with fierce label loyalty. You simply won’t drink Pepsi if there is no Coke available. If you’re going to gobble down a pint of ice cream, why choose anything else but Ben & Jerry’s? But is this label loyalty really worth it? “A number of studies [...]
Dear Tricia, I've been doing my best to treat myself with care over the past several months. I've noticed; however, that a few of my friends and family members are subtly trying to sabotage my success. They bake me cookies, they don't honor my requests for specific foods when I eat at their homes and [...]
We are creatures of habit…and suggestion. Often the mere mention that something is “delicious” is enough to prepare our minds and taste buds for a taste extravaganza, whether it’s really that tasty or not. Brian Wansink proved this theory on suggestion and its relationship to food in his book, Mindless Eating, where he tested 32 [...]
“Past associations are the most common reason a food becomes a comfort food. Some of these associations can be linked to specific individuals (‘My father loved green bean casserole; we ate it every holiday and on his birthday’)…or specific events (‘My mom always gave me soup when it was cold outside or when I was [...]
Most of us inherently know that people who watch a lot of television are more likely to be overweight, but how bad is it? Well according to Brian Wansink in Mindless Overeating, watching television is considered a “triple threat.” Aside from leading you to eat, it leads you to not pay attention to how much [...]
