Portion-Control Tips Poetion Protein intake and diabetes management take control of their portion sizes and help kids learn to do the same. Conyrol The Mayo Clinic Diet. There Protein intake and diabetes management Nutritional balance tips evidence of Oesity e. A portion is the amount of food you put on your plate. difference in energy intake between portion size conditions at manipulated meals were later compensated for. Away-from-home food intake and risk for obesity: examining the influence of context. Rather than eating snacks from the original packaging, empty them into a small bowl to prevent eating more than you need.

Obesity and portion control -

For studies in which two or fewer meals were served as smaller vs. For studies in which more than two meals were served as smaller vs. See Figure 3. Whether energy intake was objectively measured by the researcher vs.

For 15 effect sizes across 7 studies that did not manipulate portion size for all meals, the impact of portion size on meal energy intake at manipulated portion size meals and later energy intake at non-manipulated meals were measured and reported separately.

This analysis of a limited sub-set of studies suggests that changes to energy intake at meals caused by serving smaller vs. See Figure 4. Figure 4 footnote: L, M and S refers to the large, medium and small portion size conditions in a study.

Five studies examined change in body weight in smaller vs. larger portion size conditions. The raw difference in change in kilograms was.

See Figure 5. We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed studies that examined the effect of experimentally manipulating food portion sizes on daily energy intake.

Across fourteen eligible studies, smaller food portions resulted in lower daily energy intake and this effect was consistent across males and females. Studies varied in duration from one day to six months and there was no evidence that the effect of portion size on energy intake differed between studies that were shorter in duration or examined energy intake for longer.

Reductions to daily energy intake were larger in studies that manipulated the portion size of foods at most meals as opposed to studies that only manipulated portion size at one or two meals.

There was some evidence of compensation e. participants eating more later in the day when served smaller vs. larger portions, but this compensation was only partial. Studies tended to be relatively low in risk of bias and there was minimal evidence that studies higher in risk of bias e.

did not report use of random allocation to portion size conditions produced different results to studies not exhibiting risk of bias. However, studies that relied in part on participant self-reports of food consumed to calculate energy intake reported smaller effects of portion size on daily energy intake than studies relying on researcher measured energy intake.

Given that participant self-reported energy intake is prone to recall bias and inaccuracy 33 , participant reporting biases may underestimate the effect of portion size on energy intake in some studies.

Meta-analyses of the effect of portion size on energy intake have been limited predominantly to studies measuring energy intake at a single acute meal, to date. In a meta-analysis of studies sampling children, larger vs.

For example, results from a laboratory study 19 examining the effect of very large portions i. typical of everyday portion sizes vs. Therefore, caution should be taken and curvilinear relations accounted for when extrapolating the results of our main analyses to estimate how much reducing portion sizes in everyday life would be expected to decrease daily energy intake.

The present results provide convincing evidence that food portion size has a causal impact on daily energy intake. We assume that portion size impacts on daily energy intake because there appears to be a lack of tight short-term control of energy intake in humans 34 and food intake behaviour is context dependent, whereby individuals can easily eat more or less food dependent on the absence vs.

presence of environmental cues or factors, such as portion size. Consistent with other studies 16 , we found evidence that there is some energy intake compensation in response to manipulations of portion size e. Furthermore, analyses suggested that this compensation does not become larger over time i.

increased compensation after several days of being served small portions as opposed to one day. The compensation in response to smaller vs.

larger portions that occurs each day but does not become larger over time may be explained by the short-term physiological regulation of food intake being largely determined by emptiness of the gut 34 i.

why smaller portions may promote some short-term increase in energy intake on the same day and that cognitive regulation of food intake is episodic memory specific and therefore influenced only by recent eating episodes 35 , 36 i.

during the same day. Because portion sizes of some commercially provided foods are known to have increased in recent times 2 , the present findings suggest that this is likely to have contributed to increases in population level energy intake and the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

There have been some questions raised over the lack of causal evidence on the effect of portion size on body weight and therefore the public health benefit of reducing portion sizes 5. We meta-analysed a small number of studies that measured participant body weight and found that larger portions were associated with greater weight gain than smaller portions.

Collectively the present findings indicate that reductions to food portion sizes may reduce population level prevalence of overweight and obesity. We were limited to examining only gender as a moderating participant characteristic of the effect of portion size on daily energy intake and found no evidence of moderation.

However, this sub-group analysis consisted of a small number of effects and therefore should be interpreted with caution. We were unable to examine whether participant BMI moderated the effect of portion size on daily energy intake, or the potential moderating effect of individual differences in trait eating behaviours, such as satiety responsiveness Studies to date have not found convincing evidence for participant characteristics that consistently moderate the effect of portion size on energy intake However, it will be important for future research to address this and examine if the impact that reducing portion size has on daily energy intake is beneficial to the majority of the population or if there are individual level factors determine responsiveness to portion size.

A further limitation is due to the studies available we were unable to examine whether properties or presentation of food determine the effect of portion size on daily energy intake. There was suggestive evidence of publication bias and some of the included studies scored high for markers of risk of bias.

Analyses accounting for publication bias still resulted in a significant but slightly smaller effect of portion size on energy intake and results were consistent in analyses that accounted for risk of bias.

Effect sizes were largely from adult studies and therefore may not be generalisable to children, although similar findings have been demonstrated in children.

As noted, the number of eligible studies was relatively small and therefore caution should be taken in the interpretation of some of the reported sub-group analyses.

Most studies were short in duration and measured energy intake for days, therefore further studies examining the effect portion size on daily energy intake and body weight over longer time periods would be valuable. A further limitation is that the majority of studies were laboratory based and therefore may not be reflective of real-world eating due to social desirability concerns 39 , A recent study found that the effect of portion size on short-term energy intake was larger when tested in the real-world vs.

laboratory 41 , therefore we presume that the reliance on laboratory based studies in the present meta-analysis would be more likely to under rather than overestimate the effect of portion size on daily energy intake.

Smaller food portion sizes substantially decrease daily energy intake and there is evidence that over time this results in lower body weight. All authors report no conflicts of interest. ER has previously received funding from the American Beverage Association and Unilever for projects unrelated to the present research.

ER designed the research, conducted the research, had primary responsible for the final content and wrote the paper. AJ designed the research, conducted the research, analysed data and wrote the paper.

IML and ZP conducted the research. Data Sharing. View the discussion thread. Supplementary Material. Skip to main content. Downsizing food: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of reducing served food portion sizes on daily energy intake and body weight Eric Robinson , India McFarland-Lesser , Zina Patel , Andrew Jones.

Eric Robinson. Abstract Background Portion sizes of many foods have increased over time and reducing food portion sizes has been proposed as a public health strategy to reduce obesity. Introduction Large portion sizes of commercially available food products have been identified as a likely contributor to the rise in overweight and obesity observed across most of the developed world 1 - 3.

Method Eligibility criteria and study selection We included studies that used an experimental design to directly manipulate the portion size of food served to participants and measured energy intake across the course of at least one day.

Participants Studies of human participants were eligible. Intervention Studies were required to have manipulated portion sizes i. Intervention smaller portion sizes vs. Outcomes Eligible studies were required to have measured energy intake across the course of a minimum of one day.

Article identification strategy In September , we searched PsycINFO, PubMed and SCOPUS from date of inception onwards using combinations of search terms relating to portion size and energy intake see online supplementary materials for an example.

Data extraction Two authors extracted the following information and any extraction discrepancies were resolved through discussion or a third author adjudicated; study sample information e. Risk of bias indicators Informed by guidelines for best practice when conducting randomized control trials and experimental studies of eating behaviour 23 - 26 , studies were coded for nine risk of bias indicators.

Primary analyses Effect of portion size condition on daily energy intake In a primary model we examined the effect of portion size condition smaller vs. Participant and study features: effects on daily energy intake We conducted sub-group analyses to examine if results differed between effects drawn from female vs.

Risk of bias indicators: effects on daily energy intake We conducted sub-group analyses to examine if results from the primary analyses differed based on measurement of energy intake researcher measured only vs. Curvilinear relationship Previous research has suggested that there may be a curvilinear relationship between increases in portion size and energy intake 10 , 32 , whereby the effect that manipulating portion size has on energy intake is reduced at larger more extreme portion sizes e.

Effect of portion size condition on body weight For studies that also measured body weight change, we conducted generic variance inverse meta-analysis with change in body weight difference in change in body weight between the large and small portion size condition as the outcome variable.

Results Study characteristics A total of 14 studies were included in the review, see Figure 1 for study selection flowchart.

View this table: View inline View popup. Table 1. Summary information on included studies. Figure 1. Study selection flowchart. Effect of portion size condition on daily energy intake Eighty-five effects from fourteen studies were included in the primary meta-analysis.

Figure 2. Meta-analysis of mean difference in daily energy intake between small and large portion size conditions. The effect of manipulating most meals during the day vs.

Figure 3. Association between difference in kcals served by portion size conditions x axis and daily energy intake y axis raw change in kcals based on portion size reduction in kcals. Risk of bias indicators: effects on daily energy intake Whether energy intake was objectively measured by the researcher vs.

Evidence for post-portion size manipulation compensatory effects For 15 effect sizes across 7 studies that did not manipulate portion size for all meals, the impact of portion size on meal energy intake at manipulated portion size meals and later energy intake at non-manipulated meals were measured and reported separately.

Effect of portion size on daily energy intake in studies allowing for examination of a curvilinear relationship Figure 4 footnote: L, M and S refers to the large, medium and small portion size conditions in a study. Effect of portion size condition on body weight Five studies examined change in body weight in smaller vs.

Figure 5. Effect of portion size condition on change in body weight. Discussion We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed studies that examined the effect of experimentally manipulating food portion sizes on daily energy intake.

Conflicts of Interest All authors report no conflicts of interest. Author Contributions ER designed the research, conducted the research, had primary responsible for the final content and wrote the paper. Footnotes Registration.

Registered on PROSPERO CRD References 1. Portion size and obesity. Advances in nutrition. Young LR , Nestle M. The contribution of expanding portion sizes to the US obesity epidemic. American journal of public health. OpenUrl CrossRef PubMed Web of Science.

Ledikwe JH , Ello-Martin JA , Rolls BJ. Portion sizes and the obesity epidemic. The Journal of nutrition. Robinson E , Jones A , Whitelock V , Mead BR , Haynes A.

Over eating out at major UK restaurant chains: observational study of energy content of main meals. Benton D. Portion size: what we know and what we need to know. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. OpenUrl CrossRef PubMed. Muc M , Jones A , Roberts C , Sheen F , Haynes A , Robinson E.

A bit or a lot on the side? Observational study of the energy content of starters, sides and desserts in major UK restaurant chains.

BMJ open. Reale S , Hamilton J , Akparibo R , Hetherington M , Cecil J , Caton S. The effect of food type on the portion size effect in children aged 2—12 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sheen F , Hardman CA , Robinson E. Plate-clearing tendencies and portion size are independently associated with main meal food intake in women: A laboratory study.

Rolls BJ , Roe LS , Meengs JS , Wall DE. Increasing the portion size of a sandwich increases energy intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Zlatevska N , Dubelaar C , Holden SS. Sizing up the effect of portion size on consumption: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Marketing.

OpenUrl CrossRef. Marteau TM , Hollands GJ , Shemilt I , Jebb SA. Downsizing: policy options to reduce portion sizes to help tackle obesity. Robinson E , Henderson J , Keenan GS , Kersbergen I. When a portion becomes a norm: Exposure to a smaller vs.

larger portion of food affects later food intake. Food quality and preference. Robinson E , Kersbergen I. The American journal of clinical nutrition. Raghoebar S , Haynes A , Robinson E , Van Kleef E , De Vet E. Served portion sizes affect later food intake through social consumption norms.

Haynes A , Hardman CA , Makin AD , Halford JC , Jebb SA , Robinson E. Visual perceptions of portion size normality and intended food consumption: A norm range model. Haynes A , Hardman CA , Halford JC , Jebb SA , Robinson E.

Portion size normality and additional within-meal food intake: two crossover laboratory experiments. British Journal of Nutrition. Lewis HB , Ahern AL , Solis[Trapala I , Walker CG , Reimann F , Gribble FM , et al.

Effect of reducing portion size at a compulsory meal on later energy intake, gut hormones, and appetite in overweight adults. Haynes A , Hardman CA , Halford JC , Jebb SA , Mead BR , Robinson E.

Reductions to main meal portion sizes reduce daily energy intake regardless of perceived normality of portion size: a 5 day cross-over laboratory experiment.

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Rolls BJ , Roe LS , Meengs JS. The effect of large portion sizes on energy intake is sustained for 11 days. French SA , Mitchell NR , Wolfson J , Harnack LJ , Jeffery RW , Gerlach AF , et al.

Portion size effects on weight gain in a free living setting. Kelly MT , Wallace JM , Robson PJ , Rennie KL , Welch RW , Hannon-Fletcher MP , et al.

Increased portion size leads to a sustained increase in energy intake over 4 d in normal-weight and overweight men and women. British journal of nutrition. Jeffery RW , Rydell S , Dunn CL , Harnack LJ , Levine AS , Pentel PR , et al.

Effects of portion size on chronic energy intake. Blundell J , De Graaf C , Hulshof T , Jebb S , Livingstone B , Lluch A , et al. Appetite control: methodological aspects of the evaluation of foods.

Obesity Reviews. Higgins JP , Altman DG , Gøtzsche PC , Jüni P , Moher D , Oxman AD , et al. Robinson E , Bevelander K , Field M , Jones A. Methodological and reporting quality in laboratory studies of human eating behavior.

Kersbergen I , Whitelock V , Haynes A , Schroor M , Robinson E. Hypothesis awareness as a demand characteristic in laboratory-based eating behaviour research: An experimental study. Pastor DA , Lazowski RA.

On the Multilevel Nature of Meta-Analysis: A Tutorial, Comparison of Software Programs, and Discussion of Analytic Choices. Multivariate Behavioral Research.

Viechtbauer W , Cheung MWL. Outlier and influence diagnostics for meta[analysis. Research synthesis methods. Egger M , Smith GD , Schneider M , Minder C. Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test.

Duval S , Tweedie R. Trim and fill: a simple funnel[plot—based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta[analysis.

Alcohol Health Alliance UK Drinking in the dark: How alcohol labelling fails consumers. Roe LS , Kling SMR , Rolls BJ. What is eaten when all of the foods at a meal are served in large portions?

Ravelli MN , Schoeller DA. Traditional Self-Reported Dietary Instruments Are Prone to Inaccuracies and New Approaches Are Needed. Frontiers in Nutrition. Rogers PJ , Brunstrom JM.

Appetite and energy balancing. Physiol Behav. Higgs S , Robinson E , Lee M. Learning and memory processes and their role in eating: implications for limiting food intake in overeaters.

Current obesity reports. Robinson E , Aveyard P , Daley A , Jolly K , Lewis A , Lycett D , et al. Eating attentively: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of food intake memory and awareness on eating. Zuraikat FM , Smethers AD , Rolls BJ. Potential moderators of the portion size effect.

Robinson E , Haynes A. Individual differences and moderating participant characteristics in the effect of reducing portion size on meal energy intake: Pooled analysis of three randomized controlled trials. Robinson E , Kersbergen I , Brunstrom JM , Field M.

Awareness that food consumption is being monitored is a demand characteristic in eating-behaviour experiments. Robinson E , Proctor M , Oldham M , Masic U. The effect of heightened awareness of observation on consumption of a multi-item laboratory test meal in females. Mayo Clinic Press; Hollands DJ, et al.

Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

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Amd Protein intake and diabetes management few decades have portlon dramatic Herbal remedies for asthma protion the food environment and food behaviors, all resulting in Virgin Coconut Oil epidemics of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. Our research shows that Protein intake and diabetes management food environment confrol encourages Obesity and portion control to eat impulsively and markets twice as much food as people need to contro a healthy weight. When people dine away from home, their ability to control portion sizes, and thus caloric intake, is limited. Studies demonstrate that we all eat more when we are served more. So eating out — which we do a lot more than we used to — is a major contributor to weight gain and increases the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. Smaller, standardized portions are a practical and feasible solution to help stem the obesity epidemic. Portion control has also proven to be an effective measure to reduce the amount — and therefore the harm — of alcohol consumption. Portioj Portion contrll of many foods have Dairy-free yogurt over time porgion reducing food portion sizes has been proposed as a Obesiity health strategy to contrpl obesity. However, the extent to which ad food portion sizes Protein intake and diabetes management daily energy Dairy-free salad dressing Herbal remedies for asthma body portoon is Herbal remedies for asthma. Objective To systematically review and meta-analyse experimental studies that have examined the effect that serving smaller vs. larger portion sizes has on total daily energy intake. Design We used systematic review methodology to search identify eligible articles that used an experimental design to manipulate portion size served to human participants and measured energy intake for a minimum of one day. Multi-level meta-analysis was used to used to pool effects of portion size on daily energy intake. Results Fourteen eligible studies were included and 85 effects were included in the primary meta-analysis.