Want to Lose Weight? Think Red

There is an interesting article published in Appetite Magazine showing the results of a study by German and Swiss academics into the effect of color on food consumption. The Scientists found that eating from red plates and drinking from red cups reduced the amount that people ate by forty percent.

In the study, 41 male students were found to drink less tea from red marked cups. Then, when red, blue, and white plates were used to serve pretzels, the 104 test subjects ate less when served on a red plate.

The scientists hypothesize that humans associate red with “danger, prohibition and stop.” Ursula Arens from the British Dietetic Association, said: ‘Red may be associated with alarm or something primeval.’They are suggesting that the government may want to require that junk food be sold in red containers and even drinks in pubs be served in red glasses. Of course, I wonder how long it would take for red to then become associated with yummy snacks and booze. Then again, many people go to bars with fairly “primeval” interests.

Below is a song heralding the virtues of the Red Solo cup that appears to contradict these findings:

Source: Daily Mail