Ref: July 25, 2006 (Health Day News)
If you or a loved one needs to drop a few pounds, insure that you pick up a copy of the September issue of the "American Preventative Medicine" magazine. In that issue you will find the conclusion of a new study that reveals that obesity is created by our tableware and the role this plays on how much people will eat. This study involved 85 food and nutritional experts invited to an ice-cream social.
"Just doubling the size of someone's bowl increased how much people took by 31%" according to the lead author of this study. As this study indicates, if you utilize smaller plates, bowls and silverware, you will eat less, consequently you should loose weight.
I do not know how much federal or state grant money was utilized in this study, however, my common sense tells me that if I am going to be invited to a free ice cream social, I am going to eat as much ice cream as I can, despite the size of the bowl or spoon. My second thought would be, I do not care how big the plate is, if you serve me on a plate the size of a tea cup saucer, I am going back for seconds, thirds and possibly even fourths, or until I have satisfied my hunger.
Based on this study, I can see a big change in our fast food industry, the "Big Mac" will be downsized to a "Little Mac" in order to fit into the little Styrofoam container as suggested by this study. Never fear, if the Little Mac does not satisfy your hunger, eat the Styrofoam container as it will provide your daily allowance for fiber.
I would also suggest that if you have someone in your family that is overweight, break all the china in the house and go out and buy smaller plates, bowls, glasses and convert your silverware to chop sticks. "Just a thought to ponder"