Use bigger fork to eat less

People, who use a large fork for bigger bites when eating out, usually consume less food than those who take a smaller fork, study says.

Researchers from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, provided two sizes of forks to customers' of an Italian restaurant to study whether bite sizes would affect the amount they eat.

During the two days study, tables were set with either a bigger fork that hold 20 percent more food or a smaller one which hold 20 per cent less food than the restaurant’s regular utensil.

The scientists weighted each ordered meal in the kitchen before and after served it to the consumers.

Analysis showed that diners who used the bigger fork ate less of their food than those who used the smaller one, says findings published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Moreover, the scientists found that when served larger portions, diners with small forks ate significantly more than those with larger forks but when the studied people were served smaller portions, the size of the fork they used did not affect the amount of consumption.

The scientists mentioned that their findings apply to people who eat out and not those eating at home because of their different eating goals.

"We observed that diners visit the restaurant with a well-defined goal of satiating their hunger and because of this they are willing to invest effort and resources to satiate their hunger goal," said Co-author Arul Mishra.

"The fork size provided diners with a means to observe their goal progress. The physiological feedback of feeling full or the satiation signal comes with a time lag," she added.

With smaller forks, customers did not feel much progress was being made so they put greater effort into satisfying their hunger by eating more.

Source: presstv.ir