Book Review: "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think"

I first heard about this book by Brian Wansink in my Health and Nutrition class at school, and upon first hearing of, I dismissed it as nothing more than "another diet book". It was not until later when a couple of students from the class who had read the book reported on it that I began to be intrigued.

Far from being a diet book, "Mindless Eating" examines the psychology of eating. It does not lay out a specific plan or diet to lose weight, but rather it empowers you by teaching you why and how we think about food and eating in general. You can use the knowledge gained from this book to help you want eat more healthy foods, and make yourself want those things that are not good for you less.

The book is written so that a wide variety of case studies are presented, carried out, reviewed, with commentary by the author between and during studies, as well as personal application. Some fascinating experiments undertaken involve how much labeling/packaging, as well as the overall appearance make a difference in people's perception of the taste of certain foods, as well as factors that cause us to eat more of certain foods, even if it does not taste good! For example, did you know that you will most likely eat 33% more m&ms if there are six colors as opposed to four?

If you have any interest in psychology, marketing, or food/eating in general, I believe you will find this book not only fascinating, but empowering as well.