Not just what you eat but how you eat.

I ran into an interesting study published in a peer-reviewed journal called Obesity. In this study, researchers at Cornell University looked at the eating behaviors of people at all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets. Their goal was to see if eating habits differed based on BMI. As you can imagine, their habits did differ extensively.

Lessons learned.

If we take what the researchers at Cornell learned from this study and turn it around, we have a concise list of healthy eating habits used by people with normal to low BMI.  Perhaps making some changes on not just what you eat but how you eat it can keep your BMI in check. Here’s the full list:

1. Use small plates, bowls, and cups.
2. Don’t face your food while eating (such as buffets, dessert trays, party spreads, etc).
3. Browse your food options and devise a game plan before diving in.
4. Leave food on your plate.
5. Chew more per bite of food.