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Why We Unknowingly OvereatInteractions Between Forms of Fat Consumption and Restaurant Bread ConsumptionAbstractHow does fat consumption influence the consumption of companion foods such as bread? Adult restaurant goers who were randomly given olive oil for their bread used 26% more oil on each piece of bread compared to those who were given block butter, but they ended up eating 23% less bread in total. This finding illustrates one way in which fat intake can interact with the consumption of companion foods. SummaryOil vs. Butter: What Hidden Cameras Show Pouring More But Eating Less Hidden cameras at Italian restaurants show people who put olive oil on a piece of bread will eat more fat and calories than if they instead used butter. The good news—they eat fewer pieces of bread. The study was focused on finding out just which type of bread eater was better off at the end of a meal, and its results were released in the July 2003 issue of the International Journal of Obesity, a premier academic journal published by Nature.* Here’s what happened – 341 restaurant goers (who had given their permission to be filmed by hidden cameras) were randomly given olive oil or block butter to accompany their bread at an Italian restaurant. Following their dinner, their plates were removed and the amount of olive oil or butter they ate and the amount of bread they ate was calculated. The researchers found two startling facts: • Olive oil users soaked 26% more olive oil onto their bread than butter users, per slice (40 vs. 33 calories) • BUT, olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than their buttering counterparts Though most people would think that the butter users would tend to over-butter their bread, it was clear from the study that the olive oil users had a much heavier hand. Again, this is per piece of bread, not over the course of a whole meal. When the entire amount of bread and spread was accounted for, it was now the olive oil users turn to brag. While olive oil users use more per slice, they consume less bread and olive oil over the course of an entire meal. They also consumed 17% fewer bread-related calories (264 vs. 319 calories). There’s bad news and good news for olive oil lovers. The bad news is people eat more olive oil per piece of bread, but the good news is they eat less bread,” said Professor Brian Wansink (Ph.D.), Director of the Food & Brand Lab, “You have to make sure you also focus on companion foods when you count calories.” What’s this mean for “carbohydrate diets”? It’s easy for people to focus on not eating one type of food (say carbs or fat), and not to realize they’re overeating another food. People can replace fried chicken with lettuce and not realize they are using 500 calories of Blue Cheese dressing. The study was conducted by researchers from the Food and Brand Lab, and it is a follow-up study to one conducted in 1999 for the Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Newsletter (Lawrence Linder, Editor). For more information see Wansink, Brian and Lawrence W. Lindner (2003), “Interactions Between Forms of Fat Consumption and Restaurant Bread Consumption,” International Journal of Obesity, and Related MEtabolic Disorders, 27:7, 866-868. Contact: *The study was conducted at the University of Illinois, former location of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.
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