Turning the lights out or wearing a blindfold while eating could be a quick way to lose weight, according to scientists.
科學家稱，關上燈或是蒙上眼睛吃東西，不失為一條減肥的捷徑。

The simple trick works because it stops diners eating for pleasure rather than for calories. It also triggers a part of the brain that is worried that unseen food may be rotten without visual clues to show it is fresh.
這一方法之所以有效，是因為它降低了美食的誘惑力，同時讓大腦無從判斷食物新鮮與否，進而影響食欲。

An experiment by the University of Konstanz, in Germany, found that people who were blindfolded consumed nine per cent fewer calories before they felt full, compared to those who could see.
德國康斯坦茨大學的一項試驗發現，對比能夠看著食物進餐的人，蒙住眼睛進食的受試者要少攝入9%卡路里。

They also vastly overestimated how much they had eaten because they could not see how much was left on the plate. Blindfolded volunteers estimated they had eaten 88 per cent more than they actually had.
同時，因為不知道盤中究竟還剩多少，蒙眼進食的人對自己剛才進食量的估計遠高于實際情況。他們估計自己所吃掉的份量要比他們實際食用的高出88%。

Scientists believe that not seeing food on the table also allows the body to know when it is full in real-time rather than remembering past experiences where it might have taken a full plate to feel satiated.
科學家們還認為，摸黑進食能讓人更直觀地了解究竟吃多少才算飽，而平時人們根據經驗，要吃上一整碗飯才滿足。

It also prevents the ‘cephalic’ phase of digestion which is triggered by the sight of food, promoting salivation and the release of gastric juices and so makes food, literally, less easy to swallow.
人們在摸黑進食時，由于看不見食物，大腦消化組織刺激分泌的唾液與胃液就會少得多，讓食物較難下咽。

Lead author Dr Britta Renner said: “Visual deprivation caused a pronounced dissociation between actual and perceived intake.
此次研究的首席作者布瑞塔·倫納博士說：“視覺的剝奪會讓自我感覺的進食量與實際情況之間產生偏差?！?/p>

“This may provide an unobtrusive and naturalistic means to change the experience of eating behaviour."
“這會在不經意間改變人們的進食體驗。”

To test the effect, 50 people were blindfolded with modified ski goggles, and 40 were allowed to see their food. All were told not to eat within two hours of the experiment. They were then given three 95g bowls of cherry, caramel and vanilla ice cream and invited to eat for 15 minutes. Their bowls were taken away and the remaining ice-cream measured, while the participants were quizzed on how much they thought they had eaten.
為了驗證這一影響，科學家要求50人用改造過的滑雪鏡蒙住眼睛，另外40人可以看著食物進餐，并規定他們在試驗用餐前的兩小時內不能吃東西。接著科學家為每人提供了三碗冰淇淋，分別是櫻桃、焦糖和香草口味的，每碗95克。規定用餐時間為十五分鐘。之后科學家將他們的碗撤走，記錄了每人吃剩的冰淇淋量，同時詢問他們認為自己吃了多少。

On average the group who could see ate 116g while the blindfolded groups ate 105g. However the blindfolded group believed they had eaten 197g while compared with 159g for the non-blind volunteers.
可以看見食物的這一組每人平均吃掉了116克，而蒙住眼睛的這一組吃了105克。但在詢問中，蒙眼的組認為他們吃掉了197克，而可見食物的這一組認為他們只吃了159克。

They were also asked how pleasant the ice-cream tasted and the blindfolded group rated the desert lower than those who could see.
科學家也詢問了受試者們對冰淇淋味道的評價，蒙眼試驗者的味覺感受不如可見食物的這一組。

“The experienced pleasure of eating was significantly lower in the blindfolded group. Not seeing the food might have decreased its incentive value. Visual cues play an important role in the eating experience and in the overall dining experience."
“蒙眼組對用餐的快樂體驗明顯有所降低，因為看不見食物意味著食物外在對他們的誘惑力下降。由此可以看出，視覺傳遞給人的信息在用餐中扮演著重要角色。”

Previous studies have shown that the visual impact of food plays a large part in the taste. While restaurants that allow diners to eat in the dark claim it triggers other senses, in fact eating in darkness is likely to taste far more bland than usual.
早前就已有研究證明，食物的視覺呈現在很大程度上也影響了它的口感。有些餐廳讓食客們在黑暗的環境下用餐，認為這樣的話，食客們能在味覺享受之外有其他感官體驗。殊不知這樣做卻沖淡了食物本該有的口感。

英文來源：每日電訊報
譯者：Aprilcat
審校&編輯：杜娟