April 6, 2007

Want Fewer Fries With That?

By PAUL ROZIN and ANDREW B. GEIER

On a flight from Philadelphia to Chicago that one of us took some time ago, a full lunch was served at 4 p.m. Six of the nine passengers in sight ate all of it. Simply put, it was there. And in a study conducted with people who have amnesia, and who therefore cannot remember that they have just eaten, the subjects consumed second and even third lunches when the food was offered.

In short, whether or not we are physiologically hungry, when we are served food, we eat it —

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