Small Obstacles
A recent study in Appetite, an international research journal specializing in behavioral nutrition, shows that even small obstacles to snacking – like wrappers on candy – can help people control their eating. In one experiment, 60 women were divided into groups, with each group invited to snack freely from a bowl of candies for five minutes. For one group, the candies were unwrapped, while the other group was given wrapped candies. This small difference yielded significantly different results; on average, each participant in the wrapped-candy group ate 3.6 candies, while those in the unwrapped-candy group ate 5.5 candies each. The results of the study are in line with earlier research. In a similar experiment, office workers ate a third less candy when the candy was kept inside a drawer rather than on top of their desks. Simply placing food out of sight – hardly a significant impediment! – makes it far easier for us to control our appetites.The significance of small obstacles, or boundaries that stand between us and the fulfillment of our desires, should not be understated. Human beings have a limited amount of willpower; there are only so many times we can stare our temptations directly in the eye and retain our self-control. By setting boundaries – even small ones, like keeping candy wrapped and out of sight at home and in the office – we minimize direct confrontation with our desires and save our strength for the occasional Venetian tables that come our way.This principle lies at the heart of the halachic system, and particularly the laws that regulate conduct between men and women. The Talmudic sage, Ulla, taught that men should conduct themselves modestly and carefully with members of the opposite gender – […]