The article challenges the idea that people make more than 200 unconscious decisions about food every day. This number comes from a 2007 study by American scientists Brian Wansink and Jeffery Sobal, where 154 participants first estimated the average number of daily food and drink decisions at 14.4. They then estimated the decisions about "when", "what", "how much", "where" and "with whom" for a typical meal, snack or drink, which after multiplying by the number of receipts and adding up gave an average total of 226.7 decisions. The 212.3 difference between the estimates was attributed to unconscious or "mindless" decisions by the study authors. However, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development warn that this number is an illusion caused by the counting method and a subadditive effect that exaggerates the estimates. Labeling eating as mostly mindless can undermine self-confidence and self-control. They propose a more realistic view of meaningful choices and strategies such as self-nudging to support healthy decisions, along with methods such as qualitative observations or digital tracking.[1][2][4]