A NEW study has found that watching yourself eat something unhealthy, like a slice of chocolate cake, can make that food seem less tasty. And that, in turn, might make you eat less.
In a taste test study, published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 185 undergraduate students chose between a chocolate cake and a fruit salad and then evaluated its taste in a room with a mirror or with no mirrors around.
Those who selected the chocolate cake evaluated it less tasty in the room with a mirror compared to those with no mirrors around. However, the presence of a mirror did not change the taste of the fruit salad.
Lead researcher Ata Jami of the University of Central Florida explains, “A glance in the mirror tells people more than just about their physical appearance. It enables them to view themselves objectively and helps them to judge themselves and their behaviours in a same way that they judge others.”
He found that mirrors can push people to compare and match their behaviours with social standards of correctness. Accordingly, when one fails to follow the standards, they don’t want to look at a mirror because it enhances the discomfort of the failure. Therefore, the presence of a mirror induces a discomfort and lowers the perceived taste of the unhealthy food.
Jami suggests that placing a mirror in dining rooms and other eating spaces so that diners can see themselves eat, can be an effective way for individuals and restaurants to encourage healthier eating practices. He adds that mirrors could be placed in the kitchen, where a glance in the mirror might push people to reach for an apple instead of a bag of potato chips.
But there is a good news for those who really like their sweets.
Jami conducted a related experiment with the students and found that if someone else picked a less healthy item (brownies instead of fruit salad), the others didn’t feel any discomfort about eating the brownies.
“If friends give it to you, it’s guilt-free,” he told The Washington Post.