We've all probably heard the old weight loss tip that eating off a smaller plate can help us eat less; but it wasn't until recently that someone acted on the logical next step. A group of business-school researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, teamed up with a local Italian restaurant to find out just how much the sight of our meals matters.
Spoiler alert: It's not just the size of the plate that matters. The size of the fork apparently matters too. And, this time, you want a bigger one.
Yup, this study just published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that - after some patrons unsuspectingly received forks that were 20% larger than the restaurant's normal forks and others received forks that were 20% smaller - the customers given the larger forks left more food on their plates.
So next time you see me walking down the street with my pitchfork, you know why.
