This Is Why You Should Order Lunch an Hour Early

You were full of good intentions to get a salad for lunch today. But as midday rolls around, the hangry, furrow-browed, growling stomach Mr Hyde to your normally happy and satiated Dr. Jekyll opts for the greasy pizza slice instead.

But if you'd pre-ordered your lunch just an hour earlier, you probably would have gone with the healthier option.

That's according to new findings from the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University. Published in the Journal of Marketing Research last week, the study showed that when ordering food immediately before eating, people chose meals with higher calorie content. Ordering food an hour or more in advance led to lower calorie meal choices.

The study looked at 690 employees using an onsite cafeteria, as well as 195 students choosing catered lunch options. In both experiments, researchers found that "shifting the timing of the lunch order decision from immediately before lunch to some period in advance yields substantial calorie reductions."

BRB, ordering lunch now.

In the analysis of 1,000 meal orders from employees who could order lunch from 7 AM to pick up between 11 AM and 2 PM, the researchers found that "for every hour of delay between when the order was placed and the food was ready (average delay of 105 minutes), there was a decrease of approximately 38 calories in the items ordered." Similar results were found in a second study of the same group, with an average delay of 168 minutes leading to a 38 calorie decrease in meal orders.

Similarly, the experiment involving university students found that meals with an average of 109 fewer calories were selected when orders were placed before a class rather than after.

Contrary to previous research, the study noted that skipping breakfast "did not emerge as a factor in the observed effect of time delay on total lunch calories" nor were there "any observed differences in meal satisfaction" between pre-ordered and on-the-spot lunches.

Lead author and behavioural decision researcher, Eric Van Epps commented in a press statement that the study's findings could be used to help tackle the obesity crisis: "The implication is that restaurants and other food providers can generate health benefits for their customers by offering the opportunity to place advance orders."

Previous studies have also found links between impulse eating and higher calorie consumption, but Van Epps admits that there's a concern that people "who cut calories in one meal might 'make up' for the calories reductions later, whether at dinner or via snacking."

And with some of us regarding half a block of Cheddar as a casual afternoon snack (guilty as charged) and many studies linking impulsive snacking to obesity, a healthy lunch choice may not be so effective at cutting down the calories overall.

But hey, at least you can tell yourself that a savvy lunch selection means you can eat just one more biscuit this afternoon. That's totally how it works, right?