The familiar phrases “out of sight out of mind” and “why fight an uphill battle” can apply well to whether the layout of one’s fridge and kitchen will affect one’s eating habits. The Times Free Press takes a look at behavioral and nutritional science professor Brian Wansink’s book Slim by Design, in which various studies on the design of kitchens, restaurants and school lunchrooms are compiled to determine their effect on eating habits. We already had a sneak peek at a portion of Wansink’s ideas in the Lunch’d Project. However, this article focused specifically on kitchen design and whether it works for or against healthy eating habits. Wansink’s ideas focus on working with human nature to make healthy eating choices easier and simpler for individuals to actually make.
One such study, “Slim by Design: Kitchen Counter Correlates of Obesity,” documented the state of 210 households in Syracuse, NY and compared BMI with the state of the kitchen counters in each household, i.e. clutter and presence of fruit or various unhealthy foods sitting on the counter.2 The Times Free Press slightly exaggerated the results, claiming a difference of 21 pounds between those who had a box of cereal visible on the counter and those who didn’t.1 Wansink et al. actually found that weights ranged from 20 pounds to 31 pounds when the kitchen had a presence of “candy, cereal, soft drinks, and dried fruits”.2 They also found lower BMI was associated with households who had fruits sitting out on the counters.
This returns back to those phrases mentioned earlier. If unhealthy foods are out of sight (not sitting in plain view on the counter), are individuals more likely to avoid them and grab an apple or banana as a snack instead? Wansink thinks yes. The Times Free Press also mentions Wansink’s studies that show individuals are more likely to reach for the first foods they see (a theory he tested out in Lunch’d as well), and thus will take the less cumbersome task of grabbing the healthier foods positioned in the front of the fridge rather than reaching towards the back for the leftover chinese or sodas. Practitioners can use these ideas (whether in lunchrooms, fueling stations for sports teams, snack stands in the workplace, etc.) to their advantage by making access to healthier foods more compatible with human nature, thus increasing the likelihood than individuals will make healthier food selections simply because those selections are within closer reach.
1Pierce, S. Is your kitchen making you fat? Author says design, setup of kitchen can work for or against you (January 10, 2015). Times Free Press. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2015/jan/10/your-kitchen-making-you-fat/281726/.
2Wansink, B., Andrew, S., and Kaipainen, K. Slim by Design: Kitchen Counter Correlates of Obesity (August 12, 2015). Health Education & Behavior, Forthcoming. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2643023.
Personally I definitely agree with Lansink’s theories. I would be lying if I said that if I went into my freezer and saw a bag of french fries and a bag of vegetables and was deciding what to make with my piece of chicken for dinner that I would “easily” choose the veggies. Of course I would choose the french fries! So the way I remedy that? I simply don’t by them! Hence I totally agree with the statement and definitely do my grocery shopping with the idea of “Out of sight out of mind.” The decision is much easier if I open my freezer and only see a bag of broccoli and a bag of string beans. My willpower in the grocery store seems to be much more effective when choosing foods to buy rather than my willpower to choose the healthy option when the only thing on my brain is hunger!
I love that this article focused specifically on kitchen design and whether it works for or against healthy eating habits. I have never really thought that having closed cabinets versus open shelves can impact a person’s diet but it totally makes sense. The fact that I should never go to the grocery story hungry is a similar example, because I always buy more food than what is on my list and 99.9% of the time it is not the most healthy of choices. They are the snacky foods, the ice cream that was on sale (so of course I have to get it), and the ever nutritious microwaveable meals. If I make a valiant effort to only get the foods that I put on my list, because I like to eat healthy and cook fresh vegetables, than I won’t have that temptation. Same goes with the type of food I keep on my counter or in my shelves. Growing up in my house, my mom would keep the “treats”, which were really just a jar of peanut M&M’s back behind other items in our pantry so that they were not the first thing I saw when I opened up the door because if I didn’t see them, the less likely I am to eat them. I think that if practitioners make an effort to ensure access to healthier foods more easier, it will increase the likelihood that individuals will make healthier food selections simply because those selections are within closer reach.
I think this is absolutely the coolest study design. I worry though, how this affects patients psychologically. I think this is *such* a great concept to practice in the kitchen, however I worry about people feeling restricted from this mindset. Can the “out of sight out of mind” mindset lead to patients potentially eliminating the purchasing of these foods? Does this lead to feelings of deprivation? This feeling of deprivation can be problematic in the long term. I think a great integration of this research + some research I read years ago (I don’t have the citation) is the practice of implementing a healthy habit when you have a desire for an unhealthy food. “Replacing” the craving with a five minute walk, or 5 minutes of stretching. After the healthy activity, you can revisit the food of interest to see if it was a true hunger cue. These two strategies may have an interesting effect on the habits as well as the perception of the foods.
I find this study to be interesting as well for it’s talking about how the “built environment” at home has an effect on one’s eating habits! I do agree that your kitchen can have an effect on your weight; if you are not stocking your cabinets up with junk food, then most likely you won’t be eating junk food in your house.
I will say that given some home designs have a combined kitchen/dining room(which is the case in many apartments), that it can be hard in many cases to make it “less sociable”; especially when you are living in a studio. In homes with less cabinet space, it can be difficult to keep a counter-top with not a lot of clutter or food on it. While I did find Wansink’s point about color to be valid, many apartment complexes do not allow one to paint the walls. I am assuming this kind of advice is relevant to a spacious detached home, apartment with lenient rules regarding modification, or condo. The abstract did not mention the types of homes visited and I do think the actual type of home will have an effect on what one can do with their kitchen.
I think when one is working with limited space in the kitchen or a combined kitchen/dining room, Wansink’s advice of rearranging the fridge or cabinet could be the most helpful. This kind of information can be useful to more people than the advice regarding making significant physical changes to one’s kitchen.