Research
Adherence
Biased visual cues of portion size (e.g., self-refilling bowls) significantly increase food intake volume without altering perceived satiation or consumption estimates.
Use smaller plates and bowls to create accurate visual cues of portion size. When a bowl is self-refilling or large, you are likely to overeat without feeling fuller, as your brain relies on the visual cue of an empty container rather than internal satiety signals.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Participants who were unknowingly eating from self-refilling bowls ate more soup [14.7 (cid:1) 8.4 vs. 8.5 (cid:1) 6.1 oz; F(1,52) (cid:2) 8.99; p (cid:3) 0.01] than those eating from normal soup bowls. However, despite consuming 73% more, they did not believe they had consumed more, nor did they perceive themselves as more sated than those eating from normal bowls.
Why this rating
Single laboratory experiment with a small sample size (n=54) and specific food type (soup), limiting generalizability.
Source
Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake<sup>**</sup>
Brian Wansink et al. · Obesity Research · 2005
DOI 10.1038/oby.2005.12
rct · n=54Cited 487×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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