Abstract
BackgroundObesity is a global health crisis, and portion control is a key method for reducing excess body weight. Given consumers’ familiarity with large portion sizes, reducing portion sizes can be difficult. Smaller plates are often recommended to reduce portion sizes and appear to reduce portion sizes. However, there are no studies evaluating dishes specifically designed to facilitate portion control. The aim of the present study was to validate the efficacy of a novel portion control plate inspired by the Ebbinghaus and Delboeuf visual illusions to promote serving smaller portions compared to a larger dinner plate.MethodsIn two studies with a total of 110 university students, we determined whether the use of the portion control plate would result in smaller food portions compared to a larger dinner plate. The portion control plate was smaller and incorporated portion size indicators. Study 1 used instructions from My Plate based on plate ratios (e.g., “the USDA recommends filling half your plate with vegetables”) and study 2 used absolute portion size recommendations (e.g., “1 cup of vegetables”).ResultsThe portion control plate produced smaller self-selected servings in both studies. However, the servings of vegetables selected were smaller than recommended portion sizes for both the portion control plate and the regular dinner plate.ConclusionsPortion control plates have the potential to reduce self-selected portion sizes. Future research should include studies in a broader range of ages and clinical trials of portion control dishes for weight loss.
Highlights
Obesity is a global health crisis, and portion control is a key method for reducing excess body weight
Obesity has been declared an epidemic by the World Health Organization [1, 2] as nearly 35% of individuals in the United States are obese [3] and the worldwide prevalence of obesity has risen to 36.9% for men and 38% for women [4]
One reason for the obesity epidemic is the excess intake of energy combined with reduced energy expenditure, with large portion sizes implicated as a key player in promoting this imbalance [5]
Summary
Obesity is a global health crisis, and portion control is a key method for reducing excess body weight. Smaller plates are often recommended to reduce portion sizes and appear to reduce portion sizes. The aim of the present study was to validate the efficacy of a novel portion control plate inspired by the Ebbinghaus and Delboeuf visual illusions to promote serving smaller portions compared to a larger dinner plate. One reason for the obesity epidemic is the excess intake of energy combined with reduced energy expenditure, with large portion sizes implicated as a key player in promoting this imbalance [5]. The need for tools to enhance portion control is clear and has inspired investigations of the influence of serving dishes and plates design on portion size and food consumption. Based on the Delboeuf illusion (Fig. 1; [11, 12]), in which a similar amount of food looks larger on a smaller vs
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