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Asking for a doggy bag BEFORE ordering at restaurants means diners are less likely to overindulge when eating out

  • If we ask for a doggy bag before eating, we’re less likely to overindulge
  • Study found if we think food will be thrown out by a restaurant we will overeat
  • But if we see the doggy bag it acts as a reminder that we can have it at home 

When choosing a meal at a restaurant, many of us forgo the most tempting options for the sake of our waistlines.

But scientists have now found that if we ask for a doggy bag before eating, we’re less likely to overindulge – even if we order a particularly large meal.

They found that if we know our food is going in the bin, we are likely to overeat in order to finish it.

Diners who get a doggy bag before the start of the meal are less likely to overindulge – even if we order a particularly large meal


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If we can take it home, however, we are more likely stop when we’re full.

For the study, researchers at Pennsylvania State University split 50 women into two groups and gave them a meal once a week for a month. The portion sizes for both groups increased each week.

For the group who knew a doggy bag was available, the amount of food consumed hardly changed, despite the growing portion sizes.

But the women who were not offered a doggy bag ate an extra 60g for every additional 100g of food on the plate.

Britons eat out more than ever before – on average twice a week, according to recent research. In London, it’s even higher at two to three times a week. But varying portion sizes and hidden calories can make it difficult to stay slim.

In the report published in the journal Appetite, researchers said: ‘Packaging uneaten food after a meal could be an effective strategy to reduce over-consumption from large portions.’

In the study, diners who were not offered a doggy bag ate an extra 60g for every additional 100g of food on the plate

 

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