Visual illusion can cause you to overeat

Which line (vertical or horizontal) is longer?

Both the vertical and horizontal lines are the same length. The reason why the vertical line appears longer is that our mind emphasizes the vertical over the horizontal. You may be surprised to know that pros are fooled by this visual illusion too.

Brain Wansink, a professor of marketing at Cornell, who studies how psychological cues can cause us to overeat conducted a test with professional bartenders in Philadelphia. If any group of individuals knew how to pour it was going to be these guys. As a group these pro bartenders poured 20.5% more alcohol into a short, wide glass than a tall skinny one. After they failed this test, he let these same bartenders repeat the test and they failed again!

The take home message is this. If you’re going to have a beverage that has substantial calories in it such as wine, pour it into a tall skinny glass. It will save you more than a few calories. Of course I would recommend you just drink water.

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