Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink

I loved this book so much that when I was going through it to compile my notes I found myself reading it all over again. Like Freakonomics, it's a case of an expert applying science to real life, conducting dry, straightforward experiments and interpreting them, uncovering fascinating truths about how we eat and why we do so. Wansink is an eminent scientist who sets out to answer questions such as, "Why do we overeat food that doesn't even taste good?" He compiles data from dozens of studies to support his conclusions, writing all the time with a delightful authority and a familiar confidence.

Many of Wansink's hypotheses are intuitive concepts verified by objective investigation. He renames the snacks at a Vacation Bible School and runs out of the "Rainforest Smoothie" - really just vegetable juice. He finds that thinking a food is special or will taste good predisposes one to like it, and makes one more satisified with the overall dining experience.

"[W]e're pretty much clueless about when we've had enough," Wansink says, demonstrating that our stomachs don't keep count. We were designed to crave sweet, salty, fat-filled foods, and to eat as much of them as possible. Even one hundred years ago this penchant would have been a boon to our survival, but our food supply has changed faster than our tastes have, and now rather than perishing from hunger, our lives are cut short by obesity. Clearly our habits need to change.

Wansink identifies many such habits, like the "eating scripts" we automatically follow - when we go to the movies we eat popcorn; when we come home from work we have a snack - that can be altered or circumvented with a little mindfulness. For instance, "people don't eat calories, they eat volume," so using smaller plates and filling them with healthier choices can radically improve one's perception of satiety and overall nutritional intake.

Wansink does not demonize the food industry as others - Morgan Spurlock, most notably - have done. He instead insists that major corporations are out to make money, not fat people, and that they'd be just as happy if we bought their products and then threw them away. Moreover, he says, "We cannot legislate or tax people into eating" healthily. If they want to, they will; if they don't, well, they should have that choice.

Wansink has either an excellent command of the English language or a superb editor. The book has few, if any, typos, a rare achievement for a first edition. His voice is strong and controlled, bolstered by the authority of scientific evidence and tempered by his affability and genuine desire to help people with the discoveries he has made.