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 The study team analyzed 58 studies with a combined 6,600
participants that examined how the size of things like cereal bowls
and snack bags influences the number of calories people take in.
Combined, these brief experiments suggest that smaller containers,
dishes and cutlery might help adults consume up to 16 percent fewer
calories in the U.K. and 29 percent less in the U.S.
“It provides the most conclusive evidence to date that people
consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized
portions, packages, or tableware than when offered smaller-sized
versions,” said lead study author Dr. Gareth Hollands, a behavioral
health researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K.
The results, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, highlight the important role of environmental influences on
food consumption and suggest that actions to limit exposure to
larger serving sizes may be effective tools for getting people eat
less, Hollands said by email.
Globally, 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, according to
the World Health Organization. Obesity increases the risk of heart
disease, diabetes, joint disorders and certain cancers.
The effect of smaller sizes for dishes and packages didn’t vary by
gender and was similar for normal-weight, overweight and obese
people, the researchers found. Only children appeared unaffected by
size when deciding how much food or drink to consume.
Most of the studies reviewed didn’t follow people for long periods
and researchers lacked data to assess whether sustained changes in
container and plate sizes over time might contribute to weight loss
or maintaining a healthy weight, the authors acknowledge. They also
note that they lacked data on the impact of bottle, can or glass
size on alcohol consumption.
Still, when it comes to plate size, reducing the diameter by even an
inch or two can make a difference in calorie consumption, said Dr.
David Sharp, a nutrition researcher at Kent State University School
of Health Sciences in Ohio.
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Ideally, adults should use 9-inch or 10-inch plates, and children
should have 7.5-inch plates, Sharp, who wasn’t involved in the
study, said by email. But this isn’t an easy message to convey in a
culture with a “supersize” mentality, he said.
“Hunters try to kill the deer with the largest antlers, fishermen
tell stories of their biggest catch, and we sensationalize even the
act of dieting by hosting reality TV shows such as The Biggest
Loser,” Sharp said. “When we are bombarded with the appeal of
getting things bigger or larger, it creates a bit of dissonance that
the message for our most intimate choices such as our meals, our
plates and our bodies runs opposite to our culture of plenty when
considering long-term health and wellness.”
While plate size may matter, downsizing dishes alone may not be
enough to help people lose weight, sad Dr. Donald Hensrud, medical
director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in Rochester,
Minnesota.
“The obesity epidemic is a result of a number of different and
complex influences,” Hensrud, who wasn’t involved in the study, said
by email. “Recommending smaller plates is just one piece of a very
large puzzle.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1Nuifqu Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, online September 14, 2015.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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