The 9-Inch Diet

by Alex Bogusky

This isn't a diet book.

This is a book about plates. And the twisted conspiracy that is making our country fat.

FACT :: 95 percent of dieters regain the weight after five years.

FACT :: The average American dinner plate has grown from 9 inches in diameter to 12 inches since 1970.

FACT :: As a result, we’re now consuming more than 300 excess calories per day.

FACT :: Our bodies have kept pace growing with our plates.

CURE :: A return to 9-inch dinner plates.

Behold The 9-Inch "Diet."

Genres: Nonfiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2008

Reviews

[Grim-Anal King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good point which could have been adequately made in a short article or blog post rather than this unnecessary format, but I guess advertising types want to maximise the hype.

Repetition in China
Repetition in America
Repetition in West Germany
Simultaneous suicide

[Bryan Edgington]

Interesting history of plate/portion sizes. Good idea for eating smaller portions.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever heard of Bogusky and Porter? Bogusky is one half that. If you have a weird thing for hip designsters, your ears may have perked up. After buying a 1940s lake house, Bogusky discovered the old kitchen cabinets wouldn't fit his dinner plates. So he did some research and found out that in the past 30 years, plates have gone from 8.5 inches in diameter to 12 inches. So the obvious: eat less. It's simple but it's reinforcement. Portions have changed and we need to as well. Throw out your crockery and start over. Within a week, stomachs and brains will be sated by smaller servings.

If you still have to eat out, you should start thinking creatively about how to avoid overeating. Order off the kids menu, for example. Don't be embarrassed about it. If you have to, order a regular meal then eat only the part that fits on a salad plate. Spread out your hand: that's the area your food should fit into. Your serving of meat should equal a deck of cards.

There is convincing, and basic, information regarding serving sizes in Europe vs. America. Croissants, for instance, average half the calories in France as they do America. The average steak in Britain is about 1/3 the calories as its American equivalent. Best I can tell (i.e. quizzing my London friends), this is accurate. I went to dinner with an exchange student friend who ordered Shrimp and Grits and asked if the plate was for one person when it arrived at her table. We all get used to what is put in front of us, and she was used to a whole lot less than this (relatively restrained) restaurant put on their in front of their customers.

The disparities may seem minimal, but remember that 100 calories a day builds up to 10 pounds a year. More than any fad diet or alternative solution, this book points towards calories as responsible for weight gain and loss. Small changes in lifestyle and diet matter. Bogusky isn't a dietitian but this plan checks out.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a diet book. It's so much more. After buying an old house with cupboards too small to store his dishes, Bogusky thinks, "why would someone build a house with tiny cupboards you can't put plates into?" Then the lightbulb goes on. AHA! Someone didn't build a house with tiny cupboards. Plates have gotten bigger since the house was built! WAY bigger! After a fair bit of research on plate sizes over the decades and comparative portions between the US and other countries, Bogusky has determined the reason we're all getting so fat is not because we eat the wrong things but because we simply eat too much of everything.

This was an entertaining read, if not enlightening. But I really think he's onto something with the nine-inch plate concept.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inspiration for this "non-diet" book happened when the author moved into an older house and his plates wouldn't fit in the kitchen cabinets. He realized that when the house had been built, kitchen plates were smaller.

The author links larger plates to rising rates of obesity, adding it's not just one thing we can blame. It's insidious, and he suggests we start using smaller plates. When one eats off a plate of any size, one's brain doesn't think we've had enough unless we've eaten the whole thing, no matter how small the plate is.

Interesting. I've started eating on smaller plates, and it's true!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the premise is pretty basic--plate sizes have gone up, and as such we eat more--this book is really less of a diet book than a sociology and marketing study. The basic advice he gives is sound (eat less), although I didn't really read it because it was a diet book. It gets repetitive in places (no doubt due to the fact that there's one basic premise and not a lot of explanation is needed), but there are interesting tidbits to keep you entertained.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was AWESOME! Completely truthful and opened my eyes to what they perceive. It explains why Americans are obsessed with everything larger and why it's contributing to our growing behinds---starting with our dinner plates! This is not a diet book. The author works in the advertising industry and knows first hand what it takes to convince culture norms. This book took me less than 2 days to read, i could not put it down!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this in the latest issue of ReadyMade mag and got it from the library. (ReadyMade liked it, I'm sure, for it's layout style.)

Funniest story: IKEA executives were confused when they couldn't keep a particular flower vase in stock in their American storee; people kept buying them in 6 or 8 quantities. Then they realized the American shoppers thought they were drinking glasses.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical, easy anti-diet book that helps to put portion size into proportion. Nice.

(Heads up to my more particular good read buddies; he's pretty casual about using profanity.)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

yea... yea... now if I can get the rest in the house to do that...

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and eye-opening. A quick read and a lot of information.