Fighting Obesity - Talking Dinner Plates Teach Healthier Eating Habits
To tackle obesity, the National Health Service in the UK is trying out dinner plates which measure your rate of consumption and deliver recorded messages when you start eating too quickly
If you’re like a lot of people, you eat too quickly and inadvertently eat more than your body needs – before your brain has a chance to register that you’ve long passed satiety.
If only we could receive gentle reminders as we eat whenever our consumption exceeds a recommended healthy rate…
Enter the talking plate behavior modification device - Developed by Swedish scientist Per Sodersen and called the Mandometer, this talking dinner plate helps people to learn to eat at a more moderate rate as a way to control unhealthy weight gain.
The device consists of a plate on a sensitive scale with a monitor on its side. The computer within gauges the rate at which the food leaves the plate and whenever your consumption exceeds a recommended speed, a recorded message urges you to slow down.
On the monitor alongside the plate, a line graph shows a recommended eating rate in blue, so that you can compare your eating rate, shown as a red line, to the optimal rate of consumption. The screen will also periodically flash messages, such as “Are you feeling full yet” as cautions against mindless eating.
An initial study demonstrated that obese children who used the plate ate 15% less, on average, after a year of behavioral training with the talking plate.
To test its mass-market usefulness, the UK National Health Service (NHS) in conjunction with Bristol University plans to hand out the plates (which sell for substantial 1500 pounds each) to 600 obesity suffering families.
Although this large study has yet to produce any results, lead researcher Julian Hamilton-Shield has high hopes for the device, predicting, “It will be a powerful tool to help families retrain their eating habits."
More like this
Yoyo Dieting Leads to Drug Withdrawal-Like Stress Response
Researchers at the Scripps Institute say that not only does Yoyo dieting fail to induce lasting weight loss, it can actually trigger a drug withdrawal-like stress response in the brain that can lead to overeating and weight gain.
Obesity Researchers Say Neurobiology, Not Will-Power, the Secret to Weight Control
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center say they’ve figured out how to help people lose weight – and that typical forms of obesity counseling; which involve helping obese people learn strategies overcome cravings to eat high calories foods, just don’t work.
Fight Obesity - Researchers Say Eating Food Cut into Small Pieces Makes You Feel Full Faster
Researchers say one way we judge food quantity is by evaluating how many pieces of food we have to eat on our plate, so if you’re trying to lose weight, you can trick your mind into accelerated satiety by cutting food into tiny pieces.
Women Who Read Food Labels Weigh About 9 lbs Less, on Average
Need to lose a few pounds? Consider this – women who regularly read the nutritional information on food labels weigh about 9 pounds less, on average, than women who don’t.
'Flat Tummy' Fury
At a time when there seems to be more of an emphasis on female empowerment than ever before, messages of shame related to body size still permeate our culture.