from American Psychosomatic Society
One widely accepted idea to cut back on
the amount of food we eat is to use smaller
plates, so that the serving size looks bigger
on the smaller plate. A psychiatry professor
at the University of Connecticut says that
trick may not work for everyone,
particularly overweight teens. The study,
led by Professor Lance Bauer, involved girls
between fourteen and eighteen,
categorized by body mass. Results suggest
overweight or obese teen girls were less
attentive than normal weight girls to visual
cues of various types. He says changing
the size of their dinnerware may be less
effective than we thought. Further, it
suggests detailed charts about calorie
counts and diet rules might also be less
effective in overweight people. The study
was presented to the American
Psychosomatic Society.