If you're planning to buy new cafe furniture and your eatery offers buffet-style dining or free condiments, you might want to take note of a recent study into the positioning of fruit in university dining rooms.
Written by Gregory J Privitera and Heather E Creary, the study is published in Environment and Behavior and consisted of placing bowls of ready-to-eat apple and carrot within arm's reach of groups of students, or two metres away.
In either instance, the students were made clearly aware that the fruit was there and available for them to eat if they wanted it, but when it was placed nearby, they were significantly more likely to dip in.
Furthermore, when see-through bowls were used, more apple was eaten - but the amount of carrot taken was the same in both clear and opaque bowls.
"Placing foods in locations that are more proximate and visible [to diners] could increase intake of these foods," suggest the researchers.
For owners of eating establishments, that poses the problem of whether to provide condiments at the table, or at a single location away from diners' seating.
Similarly, a cafe furniture layout that places seating away from any buffet area - such as a salad bar or all-you-can-eat spread - could help to reduce diners' excessive indulgence.