Provision of Small vs. Large Portion Sizes and Later Food Intake

Provision of Small vs. Large Portion Sizes and Later Self-selected Food Intake: 3 Experimental Laboratory Studies in UK Participants

In 3 laboratory experiments the effect that receiving a small vs. large portion size of food has on later intake of that food was examined

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Small portion size provision; Behavioral: Large portion size provision

Detailed Description

Historical increases in the size of commercially available food products have been linked to the emergence of a worldwide obesity crisis. Although the acute effect portion size has on food intake is well established, the effect that exposure to smaller portion sizes has on future portion size selection is yet to be examined.We tested whether reducing a food portion size may 'renormalize' perceptions of what constitutes a normal amount of food to eat and result in people selecting and consuming smaller portions of that food in future. Across three experiments participants were served a large or smaller portion of food. In experiments 1-2, twenty four hours later participants freely selected and consumed a portion of that food. In experiment 3, one week later participants reported on their preferred portion size of that food.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 307
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of food allergy, eating disorder or currently dieting to lose weight

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Small portion size provision; Participants in this arm are served a small serving of a lunchtime food to eat (session 1).	Behavioral: Small portion size provision; The intervention is the small meal size participants are provided with during a lunchtime session in the laboratory.
Active Comparator: Large portion size provision; Participants in this arm are served a large serving of a lunchtime food to eat (session 1).	Behavioral: Large portion size provision; The intervention is the large meal size participants are provided with during a lunchtime session in the laboratory.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Later food intake (24 hour)	Amount of the lunchtime food later chosen and consumed	Measured 24 hours after random allocation (experiments 1 and 2)
Later food intake (7 days)	Amount of the lunchtime food later chosen and consumed	Measured 7 days after allocation (experiment 3)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Liverpool

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Robinson E, Kersbergen I. Portion size and later food intake: evidence on the "normalizing" effect of reducing food portion sizes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;107(4):640-646. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy013.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 2, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 4, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): August 7, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 7, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 4, 2017
• Last Verified: August 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 463882A

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Open science framework
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: From Publication onwards
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Openly available to all

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No