But you won’t even realize it.
You may think that it was your waiter’s mouth-watering description of the restaurant’s special chocolate mousse that convinced you to go for it, but there may actually be another subconscious psychological factor at play — how much your waiter weighs.
Researchers at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab found that you’re more likely to say yes to a dessert or a drink if your waiter has a high body mass index (BMI).
In fact, in a study of nearly 500 customers in 60 full-service restaurants, the findings showed that diners who ordered their dinner from heavier waiters were four times more likely to order dessert, and they also ordered 17.65 percent more alcohol.
"No one goes to a restaurant to start a diet. As a result, we are tremendously susceptible to cues that give us a license to order and eat what we want," says lead author Tim Doering, researcher at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. "A fun, happy, heavy waiter, might lead a diner to say 'What the heck' and to cut loose a little."
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The study, published in the journal Environment and Behavior, also compared the dinner orders to the Body Mass Index (height and weight ratio) of the size of the diner and the size of the waiter. Interestingly, the researchers found that heavy waiters or waitresses seemed to have an even bigger influence on the skinniest diners.
There’s actually a lot of things that can unknowingly influence what you order at a restaurant — not just the weight of your waiter. Previous research has shown that lighting, music, and even where you sit can play a role in your food and drink ordering decisions.
A word of advice from an expert? Study co-author Brian Wansink, Ph.D, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, suggests, "Deciding that you'll have either an appetizer or a dessert — but not both — before you get to the restaurant could be one of your best diet defenses.”
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