The people who want to lose weight are often given advice, which do not work in reality. This was noticed by the authors of a new study conducted at the University of Connecticut. In particular, the researchers have found that the recommendation to eat from a smaller plate has almost no effect.
Eating from smaller plates is a common tip in nutrition. It is believed that it helps people to control their portion size: as a result, they are supposed to eat less and lose weight. However, the scientists from Connecticut disagree: in their opinion, few overweight people are susceptible to such visual tricks as the size of the dish.
A study involving 162 women with excessive body weight showed that when choosing the size of servings fat people underestimate what they are going to eat; in the people with normal weight, no similar tendency has been observed.
In addition, the experts proved that the habit of keeping a detailed diary of all eaten food and counting calories is of little help to overweight people. According to the researchers, physicians should take into account the data on cognitive abilities of the patients when dealing with overeating and obesity. Moreover, special attention should be given to the treatment of adolescents with overweight. Their health education should be special and interesting, and the recommendations given to them should be clear.
