Dinner service - obesity

I use dolls house plates and I'm teeny tiny.

Simply using a smaller plate is not going to solve the obesity issue…

There were almost no fat people in the 50s - if they were they were probably cheating on their rations - and it was less common in the 70s. There was a dance group in the 60s and 70s called The Roly Polys whose USP was that they were all fat. If you look at them now some of them would barely qualify as Plus Size.

Yes, it does. Using a smaller plate is a very common recommendation for people trying to lose weight.

Ive lost 6 stone and now eat off small side plates. I stop eating as soon as I feel full. My portions before were ridiculous.

But anyone eating those things between meals rather than as part of a meal surely knows they are doing that. As you say, it's a different scenario but doesn't mean the smaller plates are irrelevant.

Im confused as to how obesity has suddenly become a "disease"
Even 30 years ago it was rare to see people so large that they are barely able to function properly. So how did this all.happen?

I haven’t eaten from anything but a small pasta dish for over 5 years. I’m still too fat and have issues with food. I cook everything from scratch, no jars/sauce packets and I don’t snack or have desserts.
In my case it’s hormonally linked and I cannot loose weight without medical assistance now. Small plates might feel like the answer, but they’re not the magic bullet

You are assuming most of the obesity comes from the food eaten from a plate….

Greggs, McD, giant bags of crisps….no crockery required! And no actually cooking either - that’s a whole new thread….😳

Restaurant starter - 70s, glass of fruit juice, slice of melon, cocktail glass portion of prawns. 2026 - heap of chicken wings, plate of nachos.

Definitely this. I'm not trying to lose weight but most starters these days seem to be fried things which I don't want before I eat an actual meal. I want something light like insalata caprese, if I can't get that I just don't bother.

Yes, "buy little plates from charity shops" has been a common diet tip for years.

Even if you're not going to do it for your main course or you're not trying to lose weight, it can certainly be a good idea for deserts. When you're not really hungry but you want something sweet, it can feel just as satisfying to have a little portion in a dinky old-style bowl.

The standard version for a lot of foods has got bigger.

Cupcake - 70s version, tiny cake dusted with icing sugar or thin layer of icing, 2026 - muffin size cake with several inches of buttercream style icing

Restaurant starter - 70s, glass of fruit juice, slice of melon, cocktail glass portion of prawns. 2026 - heap of chicken wings, plate of nachos.

Burger - 70s, one burger, not in a bun by default, served with something like beans and a small portion of oven chips. 2026 - two burgers in thick brioche with bacon, cheese, sauces etc.

Takeaway coffee - 70s, small polystyrene cup of coffee with optionally milk or sugar. 2026 - large cup with options of whipped cream, syrup, chocolate etc.

Cookie - 70s, about an inch diameter out of a packet of biscuits. 2026 - at least 4 inches diameter, sold with cakes in supermarket.

'Shrinkflation' and the sugar tax have reduced the sizes of some items, e.g. Mars Bars, but 50 years ago you were probably more likely to have something like a Club or Penguin than a Mars Bar anyway.

As we are trying to stick to the recommended units per week, I have bought smaller wine glasses. In the 1970 wine glasses were a lot smaller.

There is something in the psychology of plate sizing. I've also heard the reverse is (was?) the case for patients being treated for anorexia nervous. They'd be presented with small meals on massive plates, the reasoning for which was to help them feel 'safe' that it was only a tiny amount of food to try and eat.

So I think smaller plates might help with portion control but it's not a magic solution for obesity. It won't stop people having a second helping, or snacking, or having sugary drinks and alcohol.

Agree. When we went to Italy, we noticed the portions were much smaller. When served, we thought we’d be hungry but we weren’t.

Visit the local carvery on a Sunday to see how smaller plates don't always translate to smaller portions.

My husband still has bread and butter with every meal. For some reason it irritates me, but then everything he does irritates me

They actually did studies on this and it’s been recommended for donkeys years to use smaller plates or bowls.

Im obese. Its not the food I eat off a plate thats the problem!

You've got cause and effect the wrong way round. Our plates have got bigger because our appetites have increased. It's not that plate manufacturers have made us all eat more.

All my plates, bowls and cutlery are 50+ years old. I'm still fat. I'm less fat than I was two years ago but I've had the same plates for over 10 years.

In my early 20's I was morbidly obese. I had had enough, I cut my calorie intake, got off the bus one stop earlier and walked more and ate off a large side plate. I lost 7.5 stone over the course of two years. For me it was a game changer using smaller plates in combination with the other methods.

I was talking to my parents yesterday, both long retired so lots of time. They were saying that they only use a frozen ready meal if they repeating a different times for some reason so not worth cooking from scratch. It occurred to.me that back.in the 70s, in those circumstances you'd have an egg on toast for dinner, not a 600 cal upf spaghetti bol. I dont think now that many people would accept that as a 'dinner'.
I used to watch Call the Midwife and see their portions of food as very small and plain by today's standards. The sort of mad, OTT muffins and traybakes and cakes you now get at coffee shops that many people will have several times a week is way beyond what might have been seen as a treat back then. Add in more car use and sedentary working and there you go. There are lots of factors.

I haven’t bought modern dinner plates for years. I tend to buy plates which are called starter plates or salad plates etc which are smaller. Modern side plates we use as lunch plates.
Modern plates are just massive and yes, no way are you going to put so much food on them.

I think there is some logic to this definately but then there was a trend for huge white plates with a bit of food in the middle!!! I always remember my mum saying “they’ll be a pain they won’t fit in the dishwasher” 🤣 and they’ll look half empty!