Researchers from Cornell University have found that bigger plates result in bigger portions. The study found that big bowls and spoons cause people to eat bigger portions of ice cream.
To examine the influence of the size of bowls on serving size, researchers threw an ice cream social for 85 food and nutrition experts. Guests were given either 170-ounce or 34-ounce bowls, and 2-ounce or 3-ounce serving scoops and asked to serve themselves. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine report that doubling the size of bowls increased the amount of ice cream people served themselves by 31 percent. A bigger serving spoon resulted in 15 percent more ice cream being dished out.
So, if you are looking at ways to eat less, open your kitchen cupboards and choose the smaller plates and serving utensils more often.
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