灯光会影响人们对食物的选择

如今，新的研究表明室内的灯光也许会令你不知不觉吃更多的东西。在明亮的房间里，人们警惕度会更高，会做出更有前瞻性的决定。...



It’s no secret that

sticking to your healthy diet is tougher when you eat out. There are the

massive restaurant portion sizes, and sneaky calorie bombs (buffalo

chicken salad, we’re looking at you!) — and now new research suggests

ambient lighting can trick you into eating more too.

众所周知，在外面吃饭的时候还想保持健康饮食是比较困难的。饭店的食物分量很大，卡路里也极高（布法罗鸡肉沙拉，我们说的就是你！）。如今，新的研究表明室内的灯光也许会令你不知不觉吃更多的东西。

For

the study, published in The Journal of Marketing Research, the

researchers began by looking at the orders of 160 diners at four chain

restaurants. Half the diners were seated in dimly-lit rooms, and half

were seated in well-lit areas. The diners who were sitting in low light

ordered 39% more calories. Meanwhile the people in brighter surroundings

were 16% to 24% more likely to choose healthy menu items (think grilled

fish or white meat and veggies). In follow-up experiments, the

researchers replicated these results with hundreds of colleged-aged

students.

发布于《行销研究期刊》的一项研究指出，调查
人员研究了来自4家连锁饭店的160名用餐者的点菜单。有一半的用餐者坐在灯光昏暗的房间，另一半坐在灯光明亮的房间。前者点餐的卡路里总量要比后者高出
39%。而且，在明亮环境里的人有16%-24%的几率会倾向于选择健康食品（例如烤鱼、烤白肉和素菜）。在后续实验中，调查员又研究了数百名大学生，得
到了同样的结果。

What is

it about brightness that leads us to eat smarter? “We feel more alert in

brighter rooms and therefore tend to make more healthful,

forward-thinking decisions,” lead author Dipayan Biswas, PhD, explained

in a press release.

灯光的昏暗程度究竟是不是我们更明智选择食物的原因呢？第一作者Dipayan Biswas在一场媒体发布会上提出：“在明亮的房间里，人们警惕度会更高，会做出更有前瞻性的决定。”

In

fact, the researchers found that when diners in dimly-lit rooms were

given a coffee placebo (or simply asked to be more alert) they were just

as likely as their peers in the well-lit rooms to make healthy food

choices.

事实上，调查员发现，当为坐在灯光昏暗房间里的用餐者提供咖啡安慰剂（或者仅仅告诫他们学会谨慎）时，他们也会像那些坐在灯光明亮的房间里的人一样，选择健康食品。

It

seems making healthy choices has more to do with the brightness of your

mental state than the brightness of the room. So don’t swear off

candle-lit dinners yet.

这样看来，是否能做出健康的选择更大程度上取决于自己的心理状态而不是室内灯光的昏暗程度。所以，不要再抵触烛光晚餐啦。

The

best way to avoid overindulging is to make yourself feel more alert,

said co-author Brian Wansink, PhD, the director of the Cornell Food and

Brand Lab.

康奈尔食物与品牌实验室的负责人，共同作者Brian Wansink博士说，预防大吃大喝最好的方式是让自己时时刻刻处于警觉状态。

That

could mean going for a brisk walk before dinner, or splashing some

water on your face for an instant energy boost. Pick-me-ups like these

might actually be preferable, because as Wansink pointed out, mood

lighting isn’t all bad. In prior research, his lab has found that people

who eat in darkened rooms enjoy their food more, eat slower, and

consume less overall.

也就是说，在晚餐前快步走一会儿，或者在脸上洒点水，瞬间清醒一下。这些提神儿方式很有用。正如Wansink表示的那样，气氛灯光也不是一无是处。他在之前的实验研究中，发现在昏暗房间里就餐的人会更加享受自己的食物，吃饭的速度也更慢，总体消费也比较低。

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