Interested in a cheap, healthy way of losing weight? A new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that using smaller bowls, plates and spoons may curb the amount of food you take in. Based on the findings "obese patients may want to use smaller bowls and spoons at home to reduce over-consumption," while "larger bowls and spoons would encourage more food intake than the smaller bowls and spoons that are often provided," for undernourished individuals.
In previous studies, researchers from Cornell University found that teenagers poured 77 percent less juice into tall narrow glasses than they did into short wide glasses. In a similar study, Philadelphia bartenders poured less liquor into "highball" glasses than they did into tumblers.
To investigate, Dr. Brian Wansink and his team from Cornell University conducted a study of 85 nutrition experts, including faculty, staff, and graduate students, from a large midwestern university, who attended an ice cream social. They were randomly given a 17 ounce or 34 ounce bowl along with a 2 ounce or 3 ounce ice cream scoop and allowed to serve themselves ice cream.
Participants who receiving the larger bowls unknowingly served themselves 31% more ice cream than did those with smaller bowls. Servings of ice cream increased 14.5% among those with larger serving spoons, regardless of the size of the bowl. Altogether, those with large bowls and serving spoons served ate 57% more ice cream than those with smaller bowls and spoons, the report indicates.
