Weight of waiter may influence how much you eat
(image) Cornell Food and Brand Lab
If your waiter is on the heavier side, you may just order more food than you intended.
That's the finding from a Cornell Food and Brand Lab study that investigated if the proportions of waitstaff affect what – and how much – you order.
Researchers studied 497 diners in 60 different restaurants, finding that those who ordered from more rotund waitstaff were four times more likely to order dessert.
Interestingly, it appeared that a heavier waiter or waitress had the biggest influence on the thinnest diners.
This effect doesn't only impact food – diners also ordered 17 percent more alcohol when served by a weighty waiter.
The Cornell team suggests that the reason for this is that waitstaff with higher BMIs provide us with a subconscious social norm that it's okay to overindulge when eating out.
Tim Doering, the lead author of the study, speculated it's a combination of the restaurant setting and waiter that makes us want to throw our resolutions out the window.
"No one goes to a restaurant to start a diet. As a result, we are tremendously susceptible to cues that give us a license to order and eat what we want," says Doering.
"A fun, happy, heavy waiter might lead a diner to say 'What the heck' and to cut loose a little."
Researchers gathered the data from common American restaurants like Applebee's and TGI Fridays. They compared the body mass index (BMI) of the waiters and correlated that with what the diners ordered, how much they ordered, and how much they drank.
Cornell Food and Brand Lab has investigated other restaurant factors that may be making us overindulge – they've also found that the lighting, music and even where you sit can have a balance on how much you order.
Brian Wansink, co-author of the study, offers a suggestion for those worried their subconscious may trick them into a lifetime of over-ordering.
"Deciding that you'll have either an appetiser or a dessert — but not both — before you get to the restaurant could be one of your best diet defences," says Wansink.
The study was published in the journal
