While there’s no singular quality that makes a great dinner plate, you know when you have a less-than specimen: It looks cheap, and it chips and scratches easily. Among those that are well made ...

The typical dinner plate has grown by 6cm since the 1970s ... However, while a typical portion of vegetables is around 80g, people can exceed this and fill half their plate instead, she says.

Pederson et al. recently conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of a portion-control plate in inducing weight loss among patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Snack before dinner. If you're starving when you ... Instead, keep the serving dishes on the kitchen counter. Prepare plates there, with normal portions, and bring them to the table.