New plate soaks up oil, reduces calorie intake

Soaking up 30 calories per meal, the reusable, washable AbsorbPlate is the Thai Health Promotion Foundation’s latest healthy eating tool.

Famous for its flavor, most Thai food is cooked in generous portions of oil — an obvious contributor to the nation’s high rate of obesity, which ranks second in Southeast Asia. Knowing the nation’s love for its food, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation is trying a new approach to more healthful eating with the AbsorbPlate.

To tackle the obesity problem, the message from the Health Promotion Foundation’s latest healthy eating campaign is to keep the flavor and lose the fat – by using the AbsorbPlate. Inspired by sponges, each plate contains 500 small holes designed to soak up seven milliliters of grease. Seven milliliters is roughly equivalent to 30 calories.

AbsorbPlates are reusable and easy to wash, and the Foundation knows that changing tableware is a much faster fix than changing behaviors. Only time will tell how much the new design may help to reduce Thailand’s collective waistline. Created by design agency BBDO Asia, other countries, including the pizza-loving United States, have expressed interest in the AbsorbPlate.

What other homeware design hacks could be used to improve health?

Image source: Pixabay