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According to one study, choosing a high-calorie dessert could lead you to choose main dishes and healthier dishes.
The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, placed a healthy or less healthy dessert (fresh fruit vs lemon cheesecake) at the beginning or end of a college cafeteria line.
When the guests chose the cheesecake first, they then chose main dishes or low-calorie accompaniments and eventually consumed fewer calories than the guests who chose fresh fruit first.
These effects were not detected when one or the other of the desserts was placed at the end of the food chain, researchers said.
"We believe that customers who chose indulgent dessert first then chose main dishes and healthier dishes to compensate for their high-calorie dessert," said Martin Reimann, assistant professor at the University of Arizona in the United States. .
"Customers who chose the healthier dessert may have thought that they had already done a good deed for their body, so they deserved high-calorie foods further down the cafeteria line," he said. said Reimann.
Three other online experiences that mimicked a food distribution website resulted in similar results except when participants were distracted because they had a lot in mind.
In this case, participants who first chose indulgent dessert were more likely to continue to make unhealthy choices by choosing high-calorie main courses and side dishes, the researchers explained.
In the cafeteria experiment, researchers surveyed 134 guests on healthy eating after they walked into the cafeteria.
For four days, a lemon cheesecake or fresh fruit (but not both) was placed at the front of the line or at the end of the line.
There were also main dishes and healthy and less healthy dishes. Customers who chose the gourmet dessert first consumed an average of 30% fewer calories (including dessert) compared to those who chose the healthiest dessert first.
Diners who chose cheesecake first are also twice as likely to order the lighter main course than those who chose cheesecake at the end of the line.
The researchers controlled for other variables that could influence the results, including age, sex, body mass index, diets, exercises, and opinions on healthy eating. .
The only variable that had significant effects was age, with the difference in calories consumed increasing with age.
Since the teachers and staff also used the cafeteria, the age of the participants was between 18 and 60 years old, with an average of 32 years.
Since online food delivery services have become more popular, the study included three online experiences using the same design as the cafeteria experience, but with a food delivery simulation site.
The dessert choices were a fruit salad or a chocolate cake. In the first experiment, 160 participants were asked about their hunger and the amount of food they chose with each of the selected foods in order to estimate their overall caloric intake.
The results were similar to those of the cafeteria study, with a significant estimate of fewer calories for full meals when participants chose the chocolate cake first, instead of the fruit salad.
In another online study of 180 participants, the results were similar when a healthy or less healthy main course was featured first on the food distribution website menu instead of a dessert.
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