• Next article in this series: This Very Easy Change To Tableware Can Help You Eat 30% Less
• Previous article: Dieting Advice: Only Eat When Hungry — Sounds Obvious But It’s Hard
Even cutlery can unconsciously affect eating behaviour and weight loss.
People eat less when using a fork than when using a spoon, new research finds.
When eating with spoons, though, people assume the food has a lower amount of calories.
The reason why is fascinating.
Scientists had people eating bite-size pieces of food, such as chocolate cake.
They were asked to eat it either with a spoon or a fork.
Afterwards they estimated how many calories it had, how tasty it was and how much more they’d like to eat.
The results showed that when eating with spoons, people taste the food more gradually.
This leads them to think that each bite is smaller…
…and so they eat more.
So, to help weight loss goals, better to stick to the fork.
The study was published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research (Szocs & Biswas, 2016).
About the author
Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology.
He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2003) and several ebooks:
- Accept Yourself: How to feel a profound sense of warmth and self-compassion
- The Anxiety Plan: 42 Strategies For Worry, Phobias, OCD and Panic
- Spark: 17 Steps That Will Boost Your Motivation For Anything
- Activate: How To Find Joy Again By Changing What You Do
→ Dr Dean’s bio, Twitter, Facebook and how to contact him.
Forks image from Shutterstock
Weight loss
→ This post is part of a series on weight loss:
- How Healthy Foods Can Hurt Your Weight Loss Goal
- Dieting Advice: Only Eat When Hungry — Sounds Obvious But It’s Hard
- Why Eating With a Fork Versus A Spoon Can Aid Weight Loss
- This Very Easy Change To Tableware Can Help You Eat 30% Less
- People Eat Fewer Calories After A Straightforward Change To Home Environment
- How The Sounds You Make While Eating Could Help You Lose Weight
- Weight Loss: Why You Should Put A Mirror Up In The Kitchen
