Wanting to eat less? Forget dropping sugar and working out—it’s all about the type of plate you’re using. Eating a meal from a plate with a wide colored rim will trick your brain into thinking you have more food on your dish.
According to a recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers asked volunteers to estimate the amount of food in front of them served on different plates: plates without rims, plates with various colored rims and plates with colored rims in different sizes.
The results, as reported by Health News Observer: The study participants overestimated the amount of food on a wide rimmed plate by up to 10 percent. And when looking at food served on a plate with a colored rim, the people guesstimated the amount of food to be 1.5 to 3 percent larger compared to meals served on dishes with uncolored rims.
That's great. However, the study did not analyze if the people ate less. Fail!
I’m all about smart diet tips. And yes, this simple, side effect-free dish trick may work. But I'm pretty sure that when I’m famished, the style, shape or color of a plate has no affect on my appetite. I'll eat to my stomach’s content until I slip into a food coma and see black.
What about you? Do you think a trick like this would work for your weight loss?
Amy Capetta is a contributing writer at iVillage.com. You can follow her on Twitter.
A version of this story originally appeared on iVillage.