Darby runs cross-country and trains with her father and sister for longer road races. She has run in a 10-kilometer race. As a future pediatrician, Darby says, "I want to help children be as healthy as possible, and I love babies."
Obesity is in the news quite often these days. Darby learned that genetics, a lack of exercise, poor diet, and the super-sizing of meals could be to blame for the obesity epidemic. Then she found out that the average size of dinner plates had grown recently. Darby hypothesized that if someone is asked to pour a standard portion of food onto a plate, that person will unconsciously serve a larger amount when handed a big plate than when given a smaller one.
Darby conducted her test in public settings, recruiting 100 people randomly. She asked them to pour a "standard serving" of carrots, cereal, and peanuts onto three separate plates. She then had them repeat the process after she secretly switched from using 10 3/8-inch plates to 8 3/4-inch plates. Afterward, she labeled and weighed the 600 servings. On average, the test participants placed more food on the larger plates. For example, the peanut servings averaged 55.42 grams on the big plate but only 45.92 grams on the smaller one.
