Next time you dish up a serve of pasta, steer clear of the red plates.

Researchers found that the degree of colour contrast between the plate and the background surface affected how much food people served themselves.

When colour contrast of the plate was low, such as mashed potatoes on a white plate, people tended to put more food on their plates. But when the contrast was high, say mashed potatoes on a bright red plate, people put on average 10 per cent less food on the plate.

So before you tuck into your pasta, pull out the white plates. The colour contrast could save you up to 840 kilojoules.

Taken from the February 2012 edition of Runner's World, the largest running magazine in the world, published monthly in 11 countries.