A new study finds that an average man finishes 91 percent of the food he has on his plate.
Are you the kind that believes in finishing everything that's on your plate? You're not alone. According to the findings of a new study, an average adult individual finishes 92 percent of what's on his plate. The study was conducted by researchers from Cornell Food & Brand Lab.
For the study, researchers analyzed 1179 diners across the United States, Canada, France, Taiwan, Korea, Finland and the Netherlands. Researchers noted that this habit of finishing what's on your plate was identical across all genders and nationalities.
"If you put it on your plate, it's going into your stomach," said lead author Brian Wansink in a press statement. "Part of why we finish most of what we serve is because we are aware enough to know how much we'll want in the first place."
However, similar findings were not observed among children. Analysis of 326 participants under 18 years showed that the average child eats only 59 percent of what he or she is served.
"This might be because kids are less certain about whether they will like a particular food," said Wansink. "Regardless, this is good news for parents who are frustrated that their kids don't clean their plate. It appears few of them do."
Researchers said that these findings are important because they are indicators of a person's eating behavior. Also, knowing that you're going to finish everything on your plate can help you decide how much you should serve yourself to prevent overeating.
"Just knowing that you're likely to consume almost all of what you serve yourself can help you be more mindful of appropriate portion size," the study authors said.
In a 2009 study, researcher blamed overeating as one of the chief reasons for obesity and weight gain. This coupled with decrease in regular physical activities has led to an obesity epidemic across the globe.
The findings were published in the International Journal of Obesity,
