Effects of Portion Size of Multiple Items at a Meal on Food Intake of Adults

This study tests the effect of serving larger portions of all foods in a meal on the outcome of food and energy intake. Using a crossover design, participants are served the meal once a week for four weeks and the portion sizes are varied at each meal. Some of the foods served at the meal are low in calorie density (calories per gram) and some are higher in calorie density. The aim is to determine whether intake in response to larger portions differs depending on characteristics of the subjects or of the foods.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Feeding Behaviors
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Food portion size

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 51
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 16802
      • The Pennsylvania State University, Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Body mass index of 18 to 40 kg/square meter
• Regularly eat three meals per day
• Willing to eat foods served at test meals

Exclusion Criteria:

• Food allergies or restrictions
• Dieting to gain or lose weight
• Taking medications known to affect appetite
• Smoker
• Athlete in training
• Currently pregnant or breast-feeding
• Questionnaire score indicative of depression
• Questionnaire score indicative of disordered eating attitudes

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 100% Portion Sizes; Food portion size Test meal consists of baseline (100%) portion size of all foods	Other: Food portion size
Experimental: 133% Portion Sizes; Food portion size Test meal consists of portion sizes of all foods that are 133% the size of baseline portions	Other: Food portion size
Experimental: 167% Portion Sizes; Food portion size Test meal consists of portion sizes of all foods that are 167% the size of baseline portions	Other: Food portion size
Experimental: 200% Portion Sizes; Food portion size Test meal consists of portion sizes of all foods that are 200% the size of baseline portions	Other: Food portion size

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in meal food intake	Differences in weight of food consumed (grams) at the meals	Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4
Differences in meal energy intake	Differences in energy of food consumed (kilocalories) at the meals	Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4
Differences in meal energy density	Differences in energy density of food consumed (kilocalories per gram) at the meal	Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in hunger and satiety	Differences in ratings of hunger and satiety either before or after the meal, as assessed by 100-mm visual analog scales (mm)	Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4
Differences in ratings of food properties	Differences in ratings of food properties (such as taste or healthfulness) as assessed either by 100-mm visual analog scales (mm) or ranking (rank order)	Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Penn State University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Barbara J. Rolls, The Pennsylvania State University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Roe LS, Kling SMR, Rolls BJ. What is eaten when all of the foods at a meal are served in large portions? Appetite. 2016 Apr 1;99:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.01.001. Epub 2016 Jan 5.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 17, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 17, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): February 24, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 24, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 17, 2015
• Last Verified: February 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: PortionSize102; R01DK059853 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)