YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Summer 2018 | Page 4

ALEX REDMAN, APD
Alex is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian who is passionate about promoting
healthy eating, and encouraging people to find a way of eating that contributes to
all areas of their health and wellbeing. Alex is currently working in community
health and health promotion. To find out more about Alex, visit
https://thedietitianspantry.com
CREATING A
BALANCED PLATE
Alex Redman explains how to avoid portion distortion
– once and for all.
ortion sizes while dining out
have become out of control,
but what you may not realise
is that it could also be affecting how
much you eat at home.
P
Over time, we’ve become accustomed
to larger meals, larger plates and bowls,
larger glasses, larger everything and
this has distorted our view of what is
‘normal’. Many of us tend to serve large
portions at home without even realising
it. Ask yourself – when do you stop
eating your meal? Is it when you feel
like you have eaten enough, or is it
when you have finished everything on
your plate? Many people view a clean
plate as their ‘cue’ that they’ve finished
eating, rather than tuning in and
listening to their body as to when they
feel ‘full’ or satisfied.
Studies have shown that the size of a
meal directly relates to how much we
eat. One study 1  asked participants to
watch a movie on two separate
occasions. On the first occasion
participants were given a medium or
large box of fresh popcorn. Those with
the large popcorn consumed 45 per
cent more than those who had the
medium-sized popcorn. On the second
occasion, the movie-goers were again
given medium or large but this time it
was 14-day-old stale popcorn. Even
with the stale popcorn those with the
large container ate 34 per cent more.
The same goes for the size of your
dinner plate. When people eat from a
large plate compared to a small plate
they can consume 45 per cent more
food 2 . I know what you’re thinking: ‘a
plate won’t fool me, I’ll just put less food
on my large plate’. When 209 health
conference attendees were given a
one-hour interactive lecture on
4
overeating while using larger dinner
plates, those who selected a large plate
two hours later at the buffet lunch,
served themselves nearly twice as much
food, and this was directly after being
told about the effects of larger plates!
One study 3  asked 85 nutrition experts
to serve themselves a bowl of ice-
cream. They were given a variety of
different bowls and spoon sizes. When
using the larger bowls they served 31
per cent more and when using larger
spoons they served 14.5 per cent more,
without even realising. What’s more, tall
narrow glasses may be better than
short wide glasses, as people can serve
up to 77 per cent more in a short, wide
glass.
Researchers suggest people have a
visual cue when determining the
appropriate amount of food to
consume. Seeing a small plate full,
rather than a big plate empty, can make
you think you have eaten enough to
satisfy you, which suggests it may be
time to invest in some new dinnerware!
Making a few simple changes can help
to reduce portion size which, in turn,
can reduce calorie intake, enhance
weight loss, help you manage diabetes
and other chronic conditions, as well as
improve your overall health, and reduce
your risk of developing some diseases.
Things to try can include:
• Using tall, narrow glasses rather than
short wide glasses, and smaller
plates and bowls. Instead of trying to
just serve less food onto large plates
(as your serving sizes will usually
tend to creep up over time), actually
use smaller dinnerware.
• Being aware of exactly how much
you are currently eating. To do this,
pour out a typical serve of cereal into
YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SUMMER 2018
your usual bowl. Then, transfer that
serving into a measuring cup and
see exactly how much you’ve
poured out. For healthy adults, a
standard serve is two thirds of a cup
of wheat flake-style cereals, or one
quarter of a cup of muesli. Do the
same with the milk that you’d
typically pour on your cereal; ideally
you should be using no more than
one cup (250ml). How did you go?
• Pre-portion your snacks. Avoid
eating nuts, biscuits or cereal
straight from the packet, as you are
likely to eat more than you realise.
Instead, pre-portion them into small
bags or containers so they are ready
to enjoy when you need them.
Perfecting portions doesn’t mean you
have to measure out everything you eat
forever! You may start by measuring
cups and weighing out serves, but once
you have done it a few times, you will
be able to perfect your portions a lot
more easily.
References
1. Wansink B, Kim J. Bad popcorn in big buckets:
portion size can influence intake as much as
taste. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005 Sep-Oct;37
(5):242-5.
2. Wansink B, van Ittersum K. Portion size me:
plate-size induced consumption norms and
win-win solutions for reducing food intake and
waste. J Exp Psychol Appl. 2013 Dec;19
(4):320-32.
3. Wansink B, van Ittersum K, Painter JE. Ice
cream illusions bowls, spoons, and self-served
portion sizes. Am J Prev Med. 2006 Sep;31
(3):240-3.