The French eat their share of fattening foods too such as wine, cheese, baguettes, pate and all those wonderful pastries. So why aren’t they as fat as Americans? According to a new Cornell study it’s because they use internal cues such as no longer feeling hungry and stop eating.
Americans on the other hand use external cues such as finishing everything on their plate, running out of beverage, or the TV show they’re watching is over.
“Furthermore, we have found that the heavier a person is — French or American — the more they rely on external cues to tell them to stop eating and the less they rely on whether they felt full,” said senior author Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in the Department of Applied Economics and Management, now on leave to serve as executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion until January 2009.
I think Americans eat all the time when they are not hungry. How many of us make a nightly trip into the kitchen during commercials to find something to snack on? Are we actually feeling hunger pains or has this become routine? I’ve mentioned many times the out of control portion sizes in the US, yet it’s common to see people in restaurants clean their plate even though it’s enough for 2 people. They’re certainly not listening to their internal cue of the body being full.
There are two things I think everyone can do right now that would eliminate unwanted calories from their diet.
- Slow down and enjoy your food. It’s not a race how fast you can finish your meal. Put your fork down and take time to chew your food.
- Learn to listen to your body. When you’re full STOP EATING. Get up from the table, remove your plate, put your napkin over your plate if you need to, but STOP!
Go ahead…give it a try, what have you got to lose? A few pounds maybe and on the way to developing healthier eating habits.
AND… have a glass of wine in the evening instead of snacking!
Great Post, Elaine, and very true… I will say that I have actually heard another reason why the French aren’t overweight like Americans. I had heard that while Americans gobble their food down quickly, the French are social eaters. They may take a bite, and talk for a while, and then finally take another bite. I’m not sure if that’s true, but it makes sense.
On another note… I’m guilty of eating even when I’m not hungry. I guess its called emotional eating. I have several theories on it, but I know that some parents use food as a comfort for their children when something goes wrong and they are upset. Being a Psych major, I have the theory that this becomes something that is deep rooted, and hard to break later in life.
And, another thought is the fact that so many people tell their children to finish their plate. I know I was taught to finish the food on my plate when I was growing up (It probably sounds like I’m blaming my parents for things, but I’m really not… I’m simply pointing out some of the mistakes that I think parents often make). My husband’s mother does this, too. When my children are at her house, she makes them finish their plate (Even if she’s the one that fixed them too much food). My kids always tell her that their parents don’t make them finish food, and she hates that. I just WILL NOT make my children finish something if they are full, though. Anyway, I think by making our children do this, it trains us to eat even when we are full… Just my thoughts on the subject…
I do believe that people should have willpower even if they grew up cleaning their plate or having comfort food, but it is not always easy… I know that from experience.
Anyways… Sorry I rambled, but this really caught my interest…
Elaine,
Hope you are feeling much better.
As someone who can forget to eat, especially if I am involved in a project of some kind, overeating for the sake of eating, without a turn off button, isn’t a problem.
On the other hand, teaching for many years, and sharing my lunch half hour with students, gave me a bad habit of eating too quickly, because I really only had about 10 minutes to eat.
I still have to make myself take time to enjoy and savor a meal…but I am doing better than I was.
Love and hugs,
Beth
Sixty – wine is heart healthy
Julie – You make a lot of good points. I think many of us were raised to clean up their plate, my parents line was, “kids are starving in Africa”. Yet I raised my kids the way you are doing, gave them a healthy diet and when they were full they could stop eating. Have you and your husband ever talked to his Mother about this?? And NO you didn’t ramble, always good to hear from you and read your comments.
Beth – oh I so understand about eating fast….same scenario for those who work in a hospital, it is hard to slow down. I never had a problem once I got home though, it felt good to actually be able to sit and enjoy what I was eating. Being aware of it is half the battle though, which you are.
Hmmm, 5’11″ and 150 pounds average all my life. I must have a problem. Seems like you have that problem also. If we could bottle our respective “problems” we could help a lot of people I think.
On a related note; On the small island of Maddalena off the northern tip Sardegna, there’s only two things to do if you visit. Read or eat. And like their cousins, the Italians, they love to eat. Food ( and the included wine of course) is available all day long and if you don’t have 2 hours for lunch minimum, don’t bother…you’ll insult everyone in the restaurant, owners and their families alike (they all serve you). Funny thing is that in the six months I was there, not once did I see an overweight native. So I think what Sixty said was correct…it must be the wine.
Of course at 5:00 everyday (if I remember time correctly) everyone in the town of La Maddalena gathered at the town common and walked around the perimeter of the green so everyone could catch up on the events of the day and after about 45 minutes of this they all went back to their shops and homes to work on the evening meal. The point is that besides having this wonderful little daily social event, they all had a chance to “walk it off” as well.
Hi Elaine,
I think you hit the nail on the head. I’ve always been told growing up that I could not have seconds or dessert until I finished everything on my plate. Also, I was told to finish everything served to me because there were the proverbial “starving children in Africa.” Yes, Americans are taught to eat, and eat, and eat, and then have a snack. Good post. -Mike.
This post has made me so hungry!
Hi Elaine,
Always good food for thought here. And no pun intended. Like Julie West’s comment, I too was raised on the finish-your-plate doctrine and I obeyed. Today I find it hard to do otherwise, unless I conciously think of it and realize I am overindulging. But, reminders like this are very, very good. Taking longer to eat a meal makes perfect sense as well.
~Nooner~
Kirk – the Island of Maddalena sounds wonderful! Put that on my list of places to visit
Mike – and once those habits are started as a child it’s very hard to break as an adult and re-train your thinking about food in general.
Laoch – well go get a snack
Nooner – ahhh so you’re still cleaning your plate huh? You’ve had that habit for a long time so it will be difficult for you to change that. But at least you’re aware which is a good starting point.
Have always time to exercise everyday! Discipline is also important, be conscious with what you are eating. My friend always told me that too, I should have no left overs in my plate because lots of children have nothing to eat in Africa, but that is not an excuse for me.. sounds funny..
Also realize the French do a lot more walking then we do. And not just those living in the country. I admit I take the car to go 1 block away, yes I’m ashamed but time is precious to me.