Draw Your Dinner: A Longitudinal Study of Perceptions of Meal Size with Different Plate Sizes.

In this study, we examined the role of plate size in an individual's ability to draw what they had for dinner the previous evening. A sample of 199 students at one US university were given large pieces of paper with the image of a plate printed on them and asked to make an accurate drawing on the plate of what they had for dinner the previous evening once per week for 10 weeks. The sizes of the printed plates either stayed constant at 10.

Validating the plate mapping method: Comparing drawn foods and actual foods of university students in a cafeteria.

To examine effects of plate size on meals, I developed a method I label plate mapping. To validate plate mapping, a quasi-experimental between participants study was conducted that asked university students to accurately draw their lunch meal. Participants were randomized into groups where they were asked either pre-consumption or post-consumption to draw their lunch on either a 9″ or 11″ paper plate.

Using plate mapping to examine portion size and plate composition for large and small divided plates.

Does the size of a plate influence the serving of all items equally, or does it influence the serving of some foods - such as meat versus vegetables - differently? To examine this question, we used the new method of plate mapping, where people drew a meal on a paper plate to examine sensitivity to small versus large three-compartment divided plates in portion size and meal composition in a sample of 109 university students. The total drawn meal area was 37% bigger on large plates than small plates, which showed that the portion of plate coverage did not differ by plate size. Men and women drew bigger vegetable portions and men drew bigger meat portions on large plates when compared to small plates.