TABLEWARE TRICKS

THE shape, size and colour of your crockery, cutlery and cups can influence how much you eat and drink, research suggests. This week: Fork size

USING a larger fork may help you to eat less. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2011, tables at a restaurant were laid with forks that were either 20 per cent larger or 20 per cent smaller than standard cutlery.

After the meals, researchers measured the leftovers and found that diners using bigger forks left, on average, 3.5oz more food on their plates than those using the smaller ones. The larger fork probably helped people feel that they were making more progress with their meal, so they needed fewer mouthfuls, researchers said. Meanwhile, eating with the little forks was so frustrating that diners took more mouthfuls in an effort to polish off their food faster. Arul Mishra, a professor of marketing at the University of Utah, said: ‘The bigger fork meant diners could track how much they had eaten and also feel fuller quicker.’