Mr. Wansink and his co-author, Koert van Ittersum of the Georgia Institute of Technology, found that softening the lighting and music in fast-food restaurants didn’t change what people ordered, but it caused them to eat 18% less of what they ordered — 775 calories instead of 949. They also rated the food as more enjoyable.
The results are posted on-line in the journal Psychological Reports.
According to the authors, the study counters the popular notion that people who dine in a relaxed environment, with soft lighting and mellow music, will order more food and eat more than those in a more typical dining environment.
“These results suggest that a more relaxed environment increases satisfaction and decreases consumption,” Mr. Wansink said. “This is important information for fast-food restaurants, which are often accused of contributing to obesity: Making simple changes away from brighter lights and sound-reflecting surfaces can go a long way toward reducing overeating — and increase their customers’ satisfaction at the same time.”
