Friday, March 26, 2010

Plate Size Matters

In telling the reasons behind the compulsion driving people to overeat unconsciously, a food psychologist pointed out that several factors come into play. Some studies revealed that one common reason in particular has a lot to do with the plate size we use for eating. Nevertheless, despite the variations of these factors, a food expert maintains that all these reasons compelling us to overeat without our noticing it are united under the fact that they exist only in our minds.

A problem generated by the demands of today's busy lifestyle, such tendencies are referred to as mindless eating by Brian Wansink, a behavioral scientist at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. According to him, people are so preoccupied with the many things they are busy with during the day that they tend to lose track of how often they eat. He claims that the stomach has nothing to do with these compulsions. The mind is the sole culprit. However, as powerful as it is, it could be fooled easily using a simple technique: change plate sizes. Dr. Wansink confirmed, “Based on our studies, people get more food servings when their plates are bigger. They add up to 20-28% more.”


Contributed By: Maris Modesto

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