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[Obesity Discussion]

Plate Portion Control

A new study finds that portion control dishware may be just what the doctor ordered in helping obese people lose weight and reducing the amount of medication taken daily by diabetes patients


A new Canadian study finds that a new simple to use tool may help reduce the amount of obese people, as well as help to reduce the amount of medication that is taken by diabetics.
The tool is a new type of dishware marked with lines that emphasize proper portion sizes for starches, meats and vegetables. Experts hope that the new dishware will allow for people who are overweight or obese to knowingly reduce their calory intake, and eat proper meals based on their nutritional requirements.
"The increasing prevalence of obesity is paralleled by increasing portion sizes in the marketplace," the authors write. "Portion sizes are an important determinant of energy intake; the number of calories ingested by subjects at a meal has been directly correlated with the serving size offered."
Dr. Sue D. Pedersen and her research team from the University of Calgary performed a study looking at commercially available portion control plates and bowls in 2004. Plates were divided into sections based on requirements for carbohydrates, proteins, cheese and sauce, with veggies taking up the rest of the plate.
"The weight loss that we saw in this study is similar to weight loss seen in studies of medications for weight loss -- but without the associated potential for side effects and at a fraction of the cost," Pedersen said. The sections totaled approximately an 800 calory meal for men and a 650 calory meal form women.
When diabetics used the portion control plates, they lost an average of 1.8% of their body weight, compared to 0.1% for those diabetics not using the dishware. Furthermore, 16.9% of the dishware group lost more than 5% of their body weight, compared to only 4.6% for the participants eating off of regular plates.
"On the other side of things, looking at the people who were in the control group --that's the group who did not receive the plate to use for the six-month trial -- they had an increased likelihood of needing more diabetes medication over the six months," Pederson concluded.



Plate Portion Control

[Irving]

i am not surprised that plate portion control helps. a lot of people especially in the western world eat too much and too quick.

[PassTheBypass]

Originally Posted by Irving

i am not surprised that plate portion control helps. a lot of people especially in the western world eat too much and too quick.

Yep! I mean, you take an "adult" plate, put a piece of steak on it, lop on some mashed potatoes, and even some healthy veggies, and you are at 1800-2000 calories. And of course, the dessert is on a separate plate, and the bread(s) go in the gut separately from the plate too.

My kid's plates are smaller, but would probably be the better size for an adult meal. Little pictures of Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder are more fun than those silly blue flowers anyway.

[Merle]

Originally Posted by PassTheBypass

Yep! I mean, you take an "adult" plate, put a piece of steak on it, lop on some mashed potatoes, and even some healthy veggies, and you are at 1800-2000 calories. And of course, the dessert is on a separate plate, and the bread(s) go in the gut separately from the plate too.

My kid's plates are smaller, but would probably be the better size for an adult meal. Little pictures of Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder are more fun than those silly blue flowers anyway.

The only other thing I don't love about these portion control plates is you can still stack thinks as high as you want I would think.

I remember making plates with pictures of my family members in them many many years ago. Maybe if I put a picture of someone I really hated on the bottom of my plate, I'd be less likely to finish all the food on the plate so that I wouldn't have to see that person's picture again. OK I'm nuts.

I must be out of touch; I have no idea who Thomas the Tank and Bob the Builder are. Are these newer cartoons of some kind?

[NurseCary]

Plate Portion Control!? That's just great! really! I mean when you load your plate with the portions you should eat (if you do it correctly, I mean), your plate seems so...so... empty!!!!! ha ha ha maybe with a smaller plate we should keep that feeling at bay and learn to eat a little less each time. And... anyway... I thought everyone knew Bob the builder! ha ha ha.

[Merle]

Originally Posted by NurseCary

Plate Portion Control!? That's just great! really! I mean when you load your plate with the portions you should eat (if you do it correctly, I mean), your plate seems so...so... empty!!!!! ha ha ha maybe with a smaller plate we should keep that feeling at bay and learn to eat a little less each time. And... anyway... I thought everyone knew Bob the builder! ha ha ha.

While the plate portion idea is good, it's not going to stop someone, especially an adult from going up and getting a 2nd helping if they still feel hungry or have the urge to eat. Regardless it's all about willpower.


Bob wasn't around when there were kids running around here many a year ago.

[NurseCary]

You are so right! But well we could try and stop ourselves from a second plate. And well, about Bob... mmmm... I almost dream about him!!!!!! Whenever I work at the pediatric area and there are boys around... I must have something with Bob's face to cheer them up (at least bandages!)... they are crazy about him!!!! I am sorry if it sounded bad or something.

[Merle]

Originally Posted by NurseCary

You are so right! But well we could try and stop ourselves from a second plate. And well, about Bob... mmmm... I almost dream about him!!!!!! Whenever I work at the pediatric area and there are boys around... I must have something with Bob's face to cheer them up (at least bandages!)... they are crazy about him!!!! I am sorry if it sounded bad or something.

So Bob is the equivalent to boys of what say strawberry shortcake and barbie were to girls? That's great that you carry toys around for the patients!

[PassTheBypass]

Bob the Builder is a computer generated carpenter with a living backhoe, roller, dump truck, a crane afraid of heights, and a tiny cement mixer. They take care of a small town, and he has an ambiguous relationship with Wendy, a girl carpenter. For kicks, they have a scarecrow, cat, and bird that get into trouble. My boys loved that until one day it became "baby stuff" to them. I still like it.

Thomas the Tank Engine is a living train based on old story books. He and a bunch of other living trains get into trouble, solve troubles, and take little plastic passengers around the island of Sodor. Again, my boys loved that until one day it became "baby stuff" to them. I still like it.

We still have their plates, even now that Sponge Bob has replaced Bob the Builder.

This concludes this edition of "Children's Television", join us next week when we discuss Scooby Doo's and Winnie the Pooh's effect on potty training.