It is already known that adults who use larger dishes when they eat, consume more food. However new studies have found that the same can be said of children.

In fact, if a child is given a large bowl, they are more likely to ask for more food and consume significantly more than if they are given a smaller bowl.

US researchers set out to determine the effect of using larger bowls when eating breakfast cereal among 69 pre-school children. The children were given either small 8oz bowls or large 16oz bowls.

Adults were responsible for pouring the cereal and milk into the bowls. They did so in small increments and continually asked the children if this was enough or did they want more. They kept pouring until the children were satisfied with the amount in their bowls.

The results showed that when the larger bowls were used, children asked for almost 90% more cereal, irrespective of their age, gender or body bass index (BMI).

This study only focused on the amount the children said they wanted, they did not have to eat the cereal. However the researchers wanted to see if children would actually eat the large portions that they had wanted. They ran a second similar study involving 18 children aged between six and 10.

Similar to the first study, adults were responsible for pouring the cereal and milk in small increments until the children said they had enough. However this time, there were secret scales hidden in the tables which measured exactly how much cereal each child had and how much they then consumed.

In this study, the children requested almost 70% more food if they were using the large bowls and they consumed 52% more than children using the small bowls. They also wasted 14% more food than the other children.

The researchers from Cornell University noted that almost eight in 10 of the children said they used the same sized bowl as their parents at home. This, they suggested, could lead to the children being given portions that are too big.

"Based on these findings, decreasing the size of plates and bowls may be an easy way to prevent kids from over-consuming. Having a separate set of smaller dishware for children may be a simple solution for caregivers who are concerned about their kids' caloric intake," the team said.

Details of these findings are published in the Journal of Pediatrics.