Dieters who want to limit what they eat could have an unlikely ally – big forks。

胖姑娘减肥福音

　　正在进行减肥计划而要控制每顿摄入食物的人们现在又有了一种“非典型”的秘密武器——大号餐叉。

　　Diners who use them eat less than those with smaller forks, according to a study。

　　根据一样调查显示，使用大号餐叉的人要比使用使用小号餐叉的人每顿少吃掉一些食物。

　　While previous research examined portion sizes and their effect on how much is eaten, researchers at the University of Utah in the U.S. assessed the impact of bite sizes。

　　在这之前，曾有一项调查研究了每口食物的体积大小以及这位与进食者所吃掉食物多少的影响，美国犹他大学的研究者们研究者发现了每口食物大小所产生的不同作用。

　　The two-day experiment was conducted in an Italian restaurant. Tables were set with either a bigger fork or a smaller one – holding 20 per cent more and 20 per cent less food than the restaurant’s regular size。

　　研究者们在一家意大利餐馆进行了为期两天的实验，餐桌上放置着两组餐具，一套中叉子较大，另一套中则偏小，叉子的大小直接决定了使用其“叉”起食物的量，大号的叉子比一般餐叉能多拾起百分之二十的食物，而小号的则要少百分之二十。

　　Each plate of food was weighed before it went out to a customer and when it came back to calculate how much food was left over. Diners given bigger forks ate less, leaving more on their plates。

　　每个盘子的食物在正式端上桌之前都被称了重量，在客人用餐完毕后，盘子被端了回来，研究者们又称取了剩下食物的重量。他们发现，使用大号叉子的顾客吃得要更少下，剩在盘子里的食物也要更多一些。

　　The authors of the study found that fork size helped diners see how far along they were toward finishing。

　　这篇研究报告的作者们发现，叉子的大小可以帮助吃饭的人估量他们现在已经吃了多少，距离吃完还有什么样一个距离。

　　With smaller forks, they did not feel much progress was being made so they put greater effort into satisfying their hunger – by eating more。

　　使用小叉子的话，人们并不会很明显的发现已经吃掉了多少食物，他们会更加努力地来满足自己的饥饿感，那就是吃得更多。

　　Co-author Arul Mishra said: 'We observed that diners visit the restaurant with a well-defined goal of satiating their hunger and because of this they are willing to invest effort and resources to satiate their hunger goal.'

　　报告的合著者之一Arul Mishra：“我们发现，光顾餐厅的顾客们都想一饱口福并且填饱肚子，也因为如此，他们对应用这种的方法和资源来让自己吃饱。”

　　They said that traditionally diners satisfy their hunger by choosing, eating, and paying for their food - all of which involve effort。

　　他们表示，食客们会通过点餐、进食和埋单这样的过程来满足自己对于食物的欲望，而这一过程中的每一步都是需要注入精力的。

　　Mr Mishra said: 'The fork size provided diners with a means to observe their goal progress. The physiological feedback of feeling full or the satiation signal comes with a time lag。

　　Mishra先生或：“叉子的大小被证实是可以帮助进食者测量已经完成目的进展的一个工具。生理上的对于食物的饱腹感或满足感都是以时间作为参照的。”

　　'In its absence diners focus on the visual cue of whether they are making any dent on the food on their plate to assess goal progress.'

　　“进食者将注意力放在了能够直观看到的盘子里已经吃掉了的食物的暗示，这是他们估计满足饥饿进展的线索。”

　　The study, reported in the Journal of Consumer Research, concludes: ‘Grandma’s advice tells us to chew well so that our body has enough time to let us know that we are full。

　　这项刊登于《消费者研究期刊》的文章总结道：“祖母的建议是正确的，要要细嚼慢咽，这样身体才有足够的时间向我们做出反馈是否已经吃饱了。”

　　‘But given people’s busy lives, if we are not chewing longer, then using a larger fork may actually be more helpful in controlling over-consumption.’

　　“不过在现代人如此繁忙快节奏的生活方式中，不过我们没有时间来细嚼慢咽，那么使用一个大号的餐叉可以有效的帮助我们控制暴饮暴食。”

　　(编译：宴欣)