There’s money to be made in food, but it seems that lately there’s more money to be made in food research.

Yet another study , to try and understand why, and how, people overeat, has been conducted at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. The study compared the eating habits of people who ate at Subway (the so-called healthier fast food) with McDonalds.

It’s strange how the human mind works. Because the people who ate at Subway believed they were scoffing down a healthier, lower-fat alternative than if they’d crossed the road and gobbled a Big Mac, they were more likely to slurp down a bigger Coke, or order a cake than the Big Mac regulars. Consequently they ate more calories than the McDonalds customers, even though they thought they were doing themselves a favour.

The eaters mind is working on the notion of a calorie credit – “If I have that healthier Subway sandwich I can afford to drink that sugary beverage…” Wrong! These calorie creditors would be putting on an average of 2.2kg extra a year without realising their folly, until of course they couldn’t do their trousers up, or see their feet when they were standing.

Like I said, we are all guilty of it. From the window of the gymnasium I go to I can see Roti on Victoria Street, and I often talk myself into a buttered chicken after a workout – hey, I can afford to can’t I?

Wrong again.