How much food people consume can be influenced by subtle cues about weight that aren't consciously perceived, according to a novel chocolate-tasting study in the journal Appetite.

食欲》(Appetite)期刊发表的一项让实验者品尝巧克力的新研究表明，人们的食物摄入量会受到无意识下所感知的微妙体重暗示的影响。

The research involved two experiments in Switzerland. In one test, 95 volunteers, who ranged in age from 16 to 74 years old, participated in five-minute sessions in which they were instructed to help themselves from a bowl of chocolates and then complete taste evaluations¹. Just outside of the participants' range of vision was a computer screen displaying a well-known artwork.

这项研究涉及到在瑞士所做的两个实验。在其中一个实验中，研究人员提供了一碗巧克力，让95名年龄在16岁至74岁之间的志愿者在五分钟内随便吃，并要求他们完成味道评估问卷。刚好在志愿者视野范围之外的地方有一台计算机，屏幕显示的是一件知名的艺术品。

During a tasting by 47 volunteers, the computer screen displayed an image of three extremely thin humanlike figures in an Alberto Giacometti sculpture. For the other 48 participants, the image displayed was of a Mark Rothko painting of two different-colored, horizontally arranged rectangles.

在47名志愿者品尝巧克力期间，电脑屏幕显示的图片是阿尔佩托•贾科梅蒂(Alberto Giacometti)一件雕像作品中三个极瘦的人形雕塑。在另外48人品尝时，显示的图片是马克•罗斯科（Mark Rothko）的一幅画作，上面是两个不同颜色的、水平放置的矩形。

When the Rothko painting was displayed, people consumed on average 6.4 chocolates per person. That compared with 4.7 pieces of chocolate consumed when the Giacometti sculptures were displayed. The researchers said most participants didn't notice the artwork on the computer screens, according to questionnaires completed after the tasting.

当电脑显示罗斯科的画作时，志愿者每人平均吃掉6.4块巧克力。而当电脑显示贾科梅蒂的雕塑时，人均摄入量是4.7块巧克力。研究人员说，从品尝后完成的问卷调查来看，大多数参与者并没有注意到电脑屏幕上的艺术品。

A second experiment involved 78 new volunteers, ages 19 to 82, who were invited for individual chocolate-tasting sessions. Thirty-eight of the participants completed questionnaires about gender², age and weight before the five-minute tasting sessions. The other 40 people completed the questionnaire after the sessions. Chocolate consumption averaged 4.5 pieces when the surveys were done before the tasting, and six pieces when the questions were answered afterward³. About two-thirds of the participants in both experiments were women.

另外一项实验涉及到另外78名年龄在19岁至82岁之间的志愿者，他们被邀请参加单独的五分钟品尝巧克力活动。其中38名志愿者在品尝前完成了有关性别、年龄和体重的问卷调查。另外40人在品尝后完成问卷。品尝前做完问卷调查的那组志愿者平均每人吃掉了4.5块巧克力，品尝后完成问卷的那组志愿者平均每人吃掉了六块巧克力。两个实验的参与者中均有约三分之一为女性。