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News Science

The Psychology Behind Why People Will Eat Anything at Work (fastcompany.com) 103

Anyone who has spent time working in an office has seen how quickly a box of doughnuts gets demolished. But it's not just genuinely tasty snacks that get gobbled up. From a report: Dr. Susan Albers-Bowling, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and author of six books on mindful eating, says one of the big reasons is that it's free. "We are motivated to try things that are free because it's low risk," she says. "We also feel like we're getting a deal." The cost of obtaining a food could be a deterrent for unhealthy behavior, says Luke Ayers, PhD, assistant psychology professor at Widener University. "People may be less likely to spend money on a knowingly unhealthy snack," he says. "The food being free might just remove that obstacle."

The office is also a ripe place for encouraging mindless eating, particularly in the afternoon. "We hit an afternoon slump, and a lot of us go looking for food," says Albers-Bowling. "If it's available, we are creatures of convenience. If it's easy and it's there, we go for it." Watching our peers eat can also trigger mindless eating. "Seeing others eating something has a contagious affect," says Albers-Bowling. [...] Where the eating takes place can also influence your behavior, says Ayers. You might be more open to trying new foods when you're in a different environment, and then you connect that environment to a new habit.

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The Psychology Behind Why People Will Eat Anything at Work

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  • by SirAstral ( 1349985 ) on Thursday July 25, 2019 @07:57PM (#58988120)

    I don't eat everything they give me. Sometimes I go and buy my lunch elsewhere. There are things I have never tried, free or not.

    • When I was rebuilding mtv.com, cmt.com and vh1.com, the wife of the owner of the development company I worked for used to stock the lunchroom with free snacks once a week, and all the sweet and salty snacks were gone by Tuesday, but no one ever touched the fresh fruit and other healthy snacks.

      I ended up buying one of those magic bullet blenders and a huge tub of whey protein and polishing it all off by myself. Saved me a fortune.

      I liked working there.

    • I've had co-workers who were shocked, nearly scandalized, because I didn't show interest in the donuts.

      People who said they "can't" were shown sympathy, but people who don't even want a donut?! Weirdos, perverts, they might not even really be human.

      • God forbid you say you're on a diet. Then people complain that "you can eat more" just cause you're skinny. I just want to say "well how do you think I stay skinny?" It's so annoying and I wish people didn't glorify overeating all the time.
    • You're an anecdote. An outlier. Your contribution serves no purpose. Tell us how many like minded people are out there.

      Also it doesn't even sound like you are what they studied. Consider that and reply when you get it.

  • You can always run/walk extra to make up for it.\\

    I wouldn't complain if someone brought in fresh fruit or veggies. unless it was just carrots and celery with no dip...

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      You can always run/walk extra to make up for it..

      That'd be great, if most Americans actually ran/walked any distance

      And with a burn rate of nearly 100 calories/mile, some of these desserts will have you on the road for quite a while. No worries, most Americans walk from their car to their couch and call it a day.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Before I retired there was often food at work ... the leftovers from meetings and so forth. The good stuff got eaten. The crap stuff did not. I do not understand where the story is coming from, but it is definitely not from anywhere I recognize.

  • Pardon? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by youngone ( 975102 ) on Thursday July 25, 2019 @08:59PM (#58988402)

    ...author of six books on mindful eating...

    How can there possibly be 6 books worth of information about whatever mindful eating is?
    I am going to assume she's a con-artist and everything she says is a lie.

    • Re:Pardon? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Rockoon ( 1252108 ) on Thursday July 25, 2019 @09:01PM (#58988414)
      I am going to write a series of books titled "Mindful Book Buying"
      • Most people eat more often than they buy books, so it might be a smaller market.

        Plus, most of the people who would buy a book with your proposed title would buy it used. You would definitely have a chicken-egg problem. Maybe just sell the first 10,000 at a steep discount and lie and say they're used. Probably the only way to even get anybody to review it.

    • If your mind is full to overflowing before you even read six books, maybe you just shouldn't over-think it?

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Mindful eating is basically a way to avoid over-eating and to feel more satisfied from less food by not just stuffing your face full of it.

      It encourages you to think carefully about everything you put in your mouth, and when eating it take note of the taste and texture and how full you feel after each bite. No mindlessly stuffing cheetos into your gob until the bag is empty.

      • Mindful eating is basically a way to avoid over-eating and to feel more satisfied from less food by not just stuffing your face full of it.

        It encourages you to think carefully about everything you put in your mouth, and when eating it take note of the taste and texture and how full you feel after each bite. No mindlessly stuffing cheetos into your gob until the bag is empty.

        Well said....

        Now, can you pad that out to 6 books of approximately 40-50,000 words each? ;)

    • How can there possible be 6 books worth of information on whatever "writing code" is?
      I'm going to assume this person is a con-artist and everything they say is a lie.

      There can be a lot of nuance to something that isn't readily apparent to someone who isn't well-acquainted with a subject. At some level, coding is just giving a computer instructions, basketball is just shooting a ball in a hoop, mindful eating is just not shoving too much down your gullet.

      And given the issue we have with obesity in 1
    • How can there possibly be 6 books worth of information about whatever mindful eating is?

      I am going to assume she's a con-artist and everything she says is a lie.

      Translation: I don't know what something is but because someone else does they are a con artists and a liar.

      Let me guess, global warming isn't real, the moon landing is a hoax and economists are wrong that Brexit will cause a recession in the UK as well right?

      • You may have missed the post above that explained mindful eating in three lines.

        Let me guess, global warming isn't real, the moon landing is a hoax and economists are wrong that Brexit will cause a recession in the UK as well right?

        No, all those things are real. Brexit, just like putting "mindful" in the title of something, is a con to sell something to someone who doesn't really understand the world.

  • That's all.
  • A coworker left pancakes in a takeout container in the back of the fridge at work. A year later he pulled it out and opened the container. Looked like a green monkfish [vox-cdn.com]. It went straight into the trash.
  • I used to bring my failed baking experiments (tomato-bread etc) to work. If you cut it into pieces, and everyone tries a piece, then it will disappear, which is better than throwing it out. Noone was pleased, but noone was harmed.
    • Heh, I would have used it as an excuse not to come into work the next day, get the rest of the team to play along... "food poisoning"
  • Nothing like the special joys of watching all the cubicle meerkats pop up on word that someone on your floor, the third floor, has a birthday and there is sheet cake to be had. Wait! Who is THAT meerkat? Is this a fourth floor meerkat coming for our sheet cake? Come on! We'll see you at tomorrow's fourth floor sheet cake party!

  • by crmarvin42 ( 652893 ) on Friday July 26, 2019 @08:20AM (#58990374)
    Sure, I'd be surprised if cost doesn't have something to do with it, but I'd also be surprised if that was a predominant factor as well.

    We need to lump in factors like:
    - stress eating
    - boredom (eating being more interesting than work)
    - social pressure (B-day cake for example)
    - desire to move around (excuse to leave you cubicle)
  • make the healthy food free (or lower $), but offer unhealthy for $.

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