The 9-Inch "Diet"

I'm skinny. It's genetic (thanks Mom). However, I recognize that what you eat has a huge impact on how you feel and your overall health, so I try to be conscious of it.

Dan and Chip Heath, in their book Switch, mention a study (performed by Brian Wansink from Cornell) where groups of moviegoers were given free tubs of popcorn which was five days old. It was stale and squeaky. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the size of the tub of popcorn had a causal relationship on the amount of popcorn consumed. Would people with larger tubs of popcorn eat more?

In short... yes. People with a large tub ate 53% more than those with a medium. The size of the container matters.

What did McDonalds do after the movie "SuperSize Me" was released and there was a huge backlash against the supersize value meal? They didn't get rid of it - they changed the names of all their value meal sizes. A medium became a small, a large became a medium, and a supersize became a large. If you continued ordering what you always ordered, you would now be getting significantly more food.

Alex Bogusky (of Crispin, Porter + Bogusky) purchased an old house and tried to put his dinner plates in the cupboard. They didn't fit. Intrigued, he began to do some research. He found that the average dinner plate in the 1960's was 9 inches. That size has crept up to the 12 inches it is today. Watch the short 1-minute video below for the precise details.



Brooke and I purchased 9-inch plates for our house. They're technically "salad plates", according to Crate & Barrel. If you're interested in them, they're the "Maison" line. We love it.

We did it because a person with a 9-inch plate eats 22% less than a person with a 12-inch plate. It's a simple issue of alignment. Since we want to always stay healthy, by purchasing 9-inch plates we're making it easier for us to accomplish. It's also an interesting talking point at the dinner table.

Since I'm spouting off on our food policy, I might as well mention Michael Pollan's book Food Rules. It's a phenomenal collection of actionable, common-sense rules on what to eat and what not to eat.

After you're done with that, watch Food, Inc., then Supersize Me, then No Impact Man (for good measure).