The shape, size and colour of your plate, cutlery and cups can influence how much you eat and drink, research suggests.

In an experiment in 2010, 60 people were given white or red plates and then offered pasta in a white cheese sauce or a red tomato sauce.

Results showed that those who put red pasta on a red plate, or white pasta on a white plate, served themselves 30 per cent more food than the alternate coloured group, according to the Journal of Consumer Research. Dr Koert Van Ittersum, from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S., said when food is the same colour as the plate it’s on, the food ‘fades’ into the background, so you lose your ability to judge how much you are eating.

‘If you want to cut back on the amount of unhealthy food you eat, choose a plate that really contrasts with it,’ he says.

The principle can be used to help you eat more healthily, too — for example, putting spinach on a green plate would encourage you to eat more of it.

– Daily Mail

Categories: Foodporn