Do blue colored dishes make a person lose his appetite?

December 10, 2025 •

4 min read

According to principles of color psychology, blue is often considered an appetite suppressant, a finding rooted in our evolutionary history. This intriguing phenomenon explores whether blue colored dishes make a person lose his appetite and provides a unique angle on mindful eating.

Quick Summary

Blue-colored dishes can reduce appetite, stemming from our brains' evolutionary avoidance of rare, naturally blue foods. This color psychology tactic promotes smaller portions and slower, more mindful eating.

Key Points

Evolutionary Link: Blue is an appetite suppressant because naturally blue foods are rare and historically associated with toxicity or spoilage, creating a subconscious aversion.
Color Contrast Matters: High color contrast, such as light-colored food on a dark blue plate, makes a portion appear larger, tricking the brain and aiding portion control.
Promotes Mindful Eating: The calming effect of blue can slow down eating and promote a more mindful approach, leading to feelings of fullness sooner.
Context is Crucial: While blue typically suppresses appetite, it can increase food intake in people with dementia by improving visual contrast and making food easier to see.
Simple, Effective Tool: Using blue plates can be a subtle and low-cost psychological tool for weight management, though it is not a substitute for balanced eating habits.

The concept that colors can influence our mood and behavior extends to our dining habits, and the use of blue-colored dishes has garnered significant attention for its potential to curb appetite. In contrast to warm, stimulating colors like red and yellow, which are used extensively by the fast-food industry, the cool and calming effect of blue is thought to have the opposite effect. By understanding the psychological and evolutionary reasons behind this, you can learn how to leverage your dinnerware to aid in portion control and mindful eating.

The Evolutionary Theory: Why Blue Isn't Appetizing

The primary theory for blue's appetite-suppressing effect is rooted in human evolution. For our ancestors, food played a crucial role in survival, and a rapid visual assessment was necessary to determine edibility. Most naturally occurring blue foods, with the notable exception of some berries, were historically rare or signaled that the food was spoiled, moldy, or poisonous. Think of moldy bread or certain toxic fungi. This inherent wariness toward blue food has been passed down, creating a subconscious association that blue is not for eating.

Subconscious Warning: Our brains receive a subtle signal of 'caution' when presented with blue food, which reduces our desire to consume it.
Rarity in Nature: The scarcity of naturally blue foods means our brains do not have a strong, positive association of blue with nutrition and sustenance, unlike vibrant greens, reds, and yellows.
Inconsistent Findings: It is important to note that some studies show conflicting results, suggesting that other factors, like the context or the food's specific color, play a significant role.

The Role of Contrast and Perception

Beyond the color itself, the contrast between your food and your plate plays a major role in how much you eat, a phenomenon explained by the Delboeuf illusion. When there is a low contrast between the food and the plate color, your brain finds it harder to distinguish the portion size, often leading you to serve and consume more. Conversely, a high contrast can make a serving appear larger, tricking your mind into feeling satisfied with less food.

The Delboeuf Illusion and Visual Cues

The Delboeuf illusion is an optical trick that makes portions seem larger or smaller depending on their surroundings. For weight management, this means choosing a plate color that creates a high contrast with your food. For instance, serving a light-colored food, such as pasta with a cream sauce, on a dark blue plate will make the portion stand out clearly and appear more significant than it would on a white plate. This encourages you to serve and eat less, helping with portion control without relying purely on willpower.

Blue Plates for Mindful Eating and Portion Control

In addition to the evolutionary association, blue's calming properties can contribute to a more mindful eating experience. Blue is often linked with tranquility and calm, which can counteract the emotional triggers that lead to overeating, such as stress or excitement. A calmer dining atmosphere can encourage slower, more deliberate eating, giving your body enough time to register satiety before overconsumption occurs. By shifting your focus from eating quickly to mindfully savoring each bite, the subtle psychological effects of a blue plate can help you feel more satisfied with a smaller portion.


Table: Warm vs. Cool Colors and Appetite	Color Category	Common Associations	Effect on Appetite	Examples of Use in Dining
Warm Colors	Excitement, Happiness, Energy	Stimulates and increases	Fast-food branding, restaurant decor
Cool Colors	Calmness, Tranquility, Caution	Suppresses and reduces	Blue tableware, dim dining lights

A Special Case: Blue for Appetite Stimulation

While blue is generally associated with appetite suppression, research has demonstrated the opposite effect in specific populations. For example, some studies on patients with dementia have found that switching from white plates to blue ones actually increased food intake. This is because many common foods, such as mashed potatoes, chicken, and rice, are pale. The blue color provides a stark visual contrast, making the food more visible and easier for individuals with impaired perception to see and eat. This is a powerful illustration of how the effect of color is highly dependent on context and individual circumstances. Read more on how color contrast works for specific populations.

Conclusion

The idea that blue colored dishes make a person lose his appetite is more than an old wives' tale; it is grounded in color psychology and our evolutionary heritage. For most people, a blue plate can serve as a subtle and inexpensive tool for mindful eating and portion control due to its calming effect and visual contrast capabilities. However, it is a nuanced phenomenon, and its effectiveness can vary based on individual biology, perception, and context. As a supplement to healthy habits, incorporating blue tableware can be a useful psychological trick for those seeking to manage their food intake more consciously. Ultimately, it’s a simple change that might make you think twice before reaching for a second helping, proving that sometimes, the plate can be just as important as the food on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

The theory is based on evolution; since naturally blue foods are uncommon and sometimes poisonous in nature, our brains developed a subconscious aversion to it. This can reduce appetite when we see food on blue dishes.

While blue dishes are not a magical weight loss solution, they can act as a tool to promote mindful eating and portion control. The color can help create a calmer dining environment and, combined with high color contrast, can trick your brain into feeling satisfied with less food.

High color contrast makes food more visually prominent. For instance, light-colored food like pasta on a dark blue plate appears more substantial than on a white plate, helping to reduce over-serving.

No, the effect can vary. A notable exception is with dementia patients, where blue dishes are used to increase food intake because the high contrast makes food easier for them to see.

Restaurants rarely use blue plates. They prefer warm, stimulating colors like red and yellow in their decor and tableware to encourage faster eating and higher turnover. Blue would have the opposite effect.

Yes, warm colors like red, yellow, and orange tend to stimulate appetite and create excitement around food. Green is often associated with health and freshness.

Both can have an appetite-suppressing effect. The dish's color creates contrast directly with the food, while blue lighting creates a less stimulating dining environment overall, which can encourage slower, more mindful eating.