The Importance of Portion Control

Those of you who know me, know that I have a problem with skipping meals. I have to be very diligent and stay on top of things to make sure I eat enough calories throughout the day. But, the real problem I have is this: after I’ve realized I skipped a meal, I’m so hungry that I end up eating way more than I should at one sitting. I’ve learned that this isn’t healthy either. It can lead to elevated blood sugar, which can eventually lead to diabetes. So, it is important to eat every meal and to eat healthy portions. As it turns out, it’s not so much the feelings of hunger that determine how much you eat in one sitting, but the size of your plate.

A few studies have been done on this matter. In one study, researchers gave moviegoers free, but very stale, popcorn. Not only was the popcorn two weeks old, but all the participants had just eaten a full meal, so they weren’t hungry. Still, those who were given a large-sized tub ate about 50 percent more than those who were eating out of a medium-sized tub.

In another study, graduate students and renowned nutritional science professors were given different sized bowls and scoops to serve themselves ice cream. There were small-sized bowls and scoops, and there were large-sized bowls and scoops. Those who had the combination of a large bowl and a large scoop ate 53 percent more ice cream than those who had the small bowl and scoop combo.

These aren’t the only two studies done on the matter – not by a long shot. There are too many to mention here, but I’ll give you just one more that I found interesting. This one showed that restaurant-goers were likely to eat much more soup when they were unknowingly eating out of auto-refilling bowls. Yes, this was more of a high-tech study. There were devices hid under the table to refill the soup slowly into the bowl, so the person eating wouldn’t notice.

All of these studies point to the same fact: We need to be cognizant of what we eat with. If you’re plates are larger than the standard plate, you’re very likely to be overeating at each meal. These studies also ruled out gender, age and financial status, as they found that you’re likely to eat more regardless of any of these factors. Whether you’re a vet tech or a brain surgeon, you’ll probably overeat if you’re given an oversized plate.