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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Eating more, enjoying it less. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Big portions lead to overeating—even if the food is terrible. This according to a new study from Cornell, Researchers gave moviegoers free stale popcorn, either medium size or super-size. Predictably, people reported that it was awful. But when the researchers weighed the buckets, they found that the people who had been given the big buckets of stale popcorn ate 34% more of it than did people who had been given medium sized buckets. Suggesting that portion size may be more important than taste in influencing how much we eat.
In other food news, a Brigham Young researcher has performed studies on what he calls "intuitive eaters"—people who seem to eat just what they need to be healthy. The goal is to help everyone eat according to their body’s needs, rather than their cravings.
I’m Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the science society.