The Dieter's Paradox: When More Looks like Less
by Alan Cooper
(Editor)
Which of these meals looks like it has less calories, this one or...
...this one? You may be suprised at the answer...
According to a new study, if you show people a plate of unhealthy food, like a burger and fries, then show them the same plate of food with something healthy on the side, like a salad, most will say the second plate has fewer calories, even though it clearly has more food on it.
This has important implications for helping people lose weight. For one thing, that old tactic of encouraging people to eat their greens might not work.
After all, it's no use eating healthy greens PLUS a burger and fries. If pure weight loss is your aim, you're better off eating just the burger and fries!
Alexander Chernev of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, who authored the paper, calls this predicament “The Dieter's Paradox.”
Any ideas how we tackle it?
