July 30, 2016
In a reaffirmation of the old adage that you shouldn't go to the grocery store when you're hungry, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University say you should place your takeout order before your appetite kicks in.
The researchers conducted three studies in which subjects ordered lunch at different times of the day.
In all three studies, those who ordered in advance got meals with less calories than those who ordered right at lunchtime or closer to it.
“Our results show that ordering meals when you’re already hungry and ready to eat leads to an overall increase in the number of calories ordered, and suggest that by ordering meals in advance, the likelihood of making indulgent purchases is drastically reduced,” said lead author Eric M. VanEpps, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn.
VannEpps also said that the findings suggest restaurants can provide health benefits to their customers by allowing them to order in advance.
The researchers added that they didn't observe differences in meal satisfaction between those who ordered long before eating and those who didn't.
You can learn more about the research here.
