Waitstaff Can Impact Your Eating

The server that waits on your table at a restaurant can impact how much you eat — and not just by pushing that new $9.00 drink on the menu or encouraging you to order appetizers and desserts. Researchers have determined that we also order differently depending on the size of our server.

You would think we’d be more concerned with our own body when deciding between that bacon cheeseburger or broiled fish. But a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology shows that our server’s body type can sway our choices.

The study found that restaurant diners who were dieting tended to indulge more when their server was heavy. Dieters were also more likely to be steered into a choice (healthy or not) when suggested by an overweight server. Non-dieters, on the other hand, ate more when their server was thin.

It’s really easy to let other factors sway your order. Signs advertising specials, dessert menus left on the table, how hungry you are, what your companions are ordering, suggestions from the servers and even the meals being delivered to the tables around you are all things that can make you swing from a healthy choice to a not-so-healthy option. Just be aware of the factors that can falsely steer your choices and, instead, choose options from the menu that are in keeping with your healthy eating goals.