Colorful tableware helps Alzheimer’s patients eat more

Brightly colored plates and dishes might help Alzheimer’s patients finish their meals, Boston University researchers suggest.

Alzheimer’s patients often have trouble distinguishing objects from backgrounds, and researchers theorized that the visual perception problem might partially explain rapid weight loss in many dementia patients.

The researchers measured food consumed by Alzheimer’s patients who ate on high-contrast blue or red tableware and low-contrast white plates, cups and saucers.

Subjects ate and drank on average 25% more with the colorful tableware.

The study appears in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Nutrition.