Beware! Big Brother spies on your eating habits

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Oct 23rd 2008 @ 11:05AM

There are times, especially when I really love my meal, that I wonder what other people think of my mid-chew countenance. I remember many a late-night meal at Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg, moaning over my cheese omelet and fries -- not looking up until I was finished. But wondering what your fellow patrons is a lot different than being studied by researchers.

According to Yahoo, there's a cafe in the Netherlands that tracks the entire dining experience in order to study the subtleties of food and dining. We're talking what they pick up, which wrapping they prefer, and even how much they weigh. "Discreet ceiling cameras can zoom in on a face or a plate, or pull back to view a table or broad section of the lunchroom. They record not only what food you selected, but what you almost selected and how long you paused before deciding. Facial recognition software analyzes your level of enjoyment."

To be fair, only those signed up for this experiment can eat in the cafeteria, but it's still strange. Next time you see someone watching you eat, give them a show -- maybe they're a less covert researcher! As for the study, it just goes to show how much every little thing counts.

[via Serious Eats]

Filed Under: Science, Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: Big Brother, BigBrother, eating habits, EatingHabits, studying eating habits, StudyingEatingHabits