Benjamin Caro

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Health

...such as only two rolls of sushi.
Flickr/perke

Here’s a study that belongs in a Malcolm Gladwell book. Researchers found that when people were presented with chocolate, popcorn or hand cream (please don’t eat hand cream), they sampled less off red plates than off any other color. Wait a minute. Is this the “one, weird trick” that helps you cut down a bit of your belly every day? I reached out to Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, about why red could have this de-appetizing affect:

Since red is usually associated with “danger and prohibition” (Think parking signs – and then remember to move your car), this might have tipped off the samplers to curb their sampling.

Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, offered Squid Ink another possibility. “Certain colors are also generally more appetizing than others: reds and greens are more appealing, for example, than blues and purples, which are rarely found in natural foods.”

It’s possible that by making the plate more appetizing, the products appeared less so.

Should you chuck the good china? Read the full article for why that might be a bad idea.

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