Overeating

Large-sized tableware tied to overeating

LONDON: If you want to watch your weight, avoid using large-sized tableware! People consume more food or non-alcoholic drinks when offered jumbo portions or when they use larger items of tableware, a new study has found. 


The research carried out by the University of Cambridge suggests that eliminating larger-sized portions from the diet completely could reduce energy intake by up to 16% among UK adults or 29% among US adults. Overeating increases the risks of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers, which are among the leading causes of ill health and premature death. 

However, the extent to which this overconsumption might be attributed to 'overserving' of larger-sized portions of food and drink has not been known. As part of their systema tic review of the evidence, researchers combined results from 61 high quality studies, capturing data from 6,711 participants, to find the influence of portion, package and tableware size on food consumption. The data showed that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions.