The Food On Your Counter Can Predict Your Weight

The study, conducted by researchers at Cornell University, photographed 200 kitchens in the Syracuse, New York, area and compared the foods easily visible on the countertop with the weights of the women in each home. (A quibble: Why only women? The study’s lead author is a man, for what that’s worth.)

The study found that certain items were strongly correlated with major shifts in the weight of the resident. Cereal, for example: It’s commonly assumed that non-obviously-sugary cereal like Kix, Special K, or Cheerios is a healthy item, though all of those are actually packed with sugar and calories. And the study bears that out: Residents with cereal kept visible on the countertop weighed, on average, 20 pounds more than those without it. Soft drinks left on the counter? Between 24 and 26 pounds heavier than those without it.

The correlation works both ways: Households with healthy foods left visible tended to weigh less than those without this practice. Those with a fruit bowl, for example, weighed 13 pounds less than those without one.

This is, of course, a correlational study that does not prove anything about the connection between types of visible food and weight. There are about a hundred other factors that could sway the study, from economic pressures to number of people in the house to type of cereal to various lifestyle choices. But building on the same researcher’s earlier work (which involved monitoring the arrangements of food in cabinets), a picture is starting to emerge: keeping healthy food within easy reach might entice you to actually eat it.