Weight Gain and Your Plate

It’s been said for years by dietitians, but now researchers are agreeing; the size of your plate and utensils may actually have a bearing on how much weight you gain. Sound a little awkward to you? Perhaps, but consider this, how much food can you put on your plate if you are given a “normal” size dinner plate? And how much can you put on your plate when you use a “large” one? Obviously the larger plate fits substantially more food then the other plate and thus people are more likely to fill the entire plate and consume the food on it. Under these circumstances a person can gain a lot more weight by using a larger plate than someone using a smaller plate as they are eating less fat, sugar, etc…

CornellUniversity researchers conducted an experiment at an ice cream social which involved 85 nutrition experts. (a rather ironic place for nutrition experts to be, but hey…I won’t go into that). According to the study “the nutrition experts were given either a larger (34 oz.) or smaller (17 oz.) bowl or a larger (3 oz.) or smaller (2 oz.) ice cream scoop. The participants were allowed to serve themselves, and their ice cream portions were weighed.” (Stoppler, 2006). Apparently the findings were that those using a larger bowls served themselves up a larger portion of ice cream. “Those with larger bowls took 31% more ice cream than those with smaller bowls, and those with the bigger scoops took 14% more than those with the smaller scoops.” (Stoppler, 2006).

As it turns out, we can apply this awkward study to our own lives and quest for health. Instead of buying those massive plates for dinner, try using some medium to small sized plates. Additionally, buy smaller serving utensils and utilize them on a daily basis so that serving sizes are smaller. The only hang-up here is to have a little will-power and not go back for seconds or thirds. Using a smaller plate/bowl is an excellent way to cut down on portion sizes without actually having to weigh and measure everything you eat.