Effects of Variety and Portion Size on Meal Intake of Adults

The primary purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the combined effects of meal variety and portion size on food intake at a meal. The study will also explore relationships with eating microstructure such as eating rate and bite size. Additionally, other individual characteristics will be examined for their influence on the effects of variety and portion size on meal intake.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Eating Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Low variety; Other: Small Portion Size; Other: Without Beverage; Other: High Variety; Other: With Beverage; Other: Large Portion Size

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be willing and able to travel to Penn State University Park campus weekly for meals
• Be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
• Be a woman 20 - 65 years old
• Regularly eat 3 meals/day
• Be willing to refrain from drinking alcohol the day before and during test days
• Have a body mass index between 18.0 and 35.0 kg/m*m
• Be willing to refrain from eating after 10 pm the evening before test sessions
• Be willing to participate in all study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

• Must not be a smoker
• Must not be an athlete in training
• Must not be pregnant or breastfeeding at the time of screening
• Must not have taken prescription or non-prescription drugs that may affect appetite or food intake within the last 3 months
• Must not dislike or be unable to eat the test foods (because of allergies, intolerance, or dietary restrictions)
• Must not be currently dieting to gain or lose weight
• Must not have a health condition that affects appetite
• Must not have participated in a similar study in our lab in the past year
• Must not be a student, faculty, or staff member in nutritional sciences or psychology

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

6

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Low Variety Small Portion Without Beverage; Test meal with food components mixed together (low variety) with a small portion of food served without water	Other: Low variety; Meal components are mixed together on the plate; Other: Small Portion Size; Small meal portion size; Other: Without Beverage; Meal served without water
Experimental: High Variety Small Portion Without Beverage; Test meal with food components separated on the plate (high variety) with a small portion of food served without water	Other: Small Portion Size; Small meal portion size; Other: Without Beverage; Meal served without water; Other: High Variety; Meal components are served separately on the plate
Experimental: Low Variety Small Portion With Beverage; Test meal with food components mixed together (low variety) with a small portion of food and water	Other: Low variety; Meal components are mixed together on the plate; Other: Small Portion Size; Small meal portion size; Other: With Beverage; Meal served with water
Experimental: High Variety Small Portion With Beverage; Test meal with food components separated on the plate (high variety) with a small portion of food and water	Other: Small Portion Size; Small meal portion size; Other: High Variety; Meal components are served separately on the plate; Other: With Beverage; Meal served with water
Experimental: Low Variety Large Portion With Beverage; Test meal with food components mixed together (low variety) with a large portion of food and water	Other: Low variety; Meal components are mixed together on the plate; Other: With Beverage; Meal served with water; Other: Large Portion Size; Large meal portion size
Experimental: High Variety Large Portion With Beverage; Test meal with food components separated on the plate (high variety) with a large portion of food and water	Other: High Variety; Meal components are served separately on the plate; Other: With Beverage; Meal served with water; Other: Large Portion Size; Large meal portion size

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in intake by weight	Weight (grams) of all meal components consumed	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in energy intake	Energy intake (kilocalories) of all meal components consumed, calculated from weight and energy density	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in bite count	The number of bites of food during the meal	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in meal duration	Duration of the meal in minutes	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in mean eating rate	Mean food intake per minute (grams/minute), calculated by dividing meal food intake by meal duration	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in mean bite size	Mean food intake per bite (grams/bite), calculated by dividing meal food intake by bite count	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in sip count	The number of sips of water during the meal	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in mean drinking rate	Mean water intake per minute (grams/minute), calculated by dividing meal water intake by meal duration	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in mean sip size	Mean water intake per sip (grams/sip), calculated by dividing meal water intake by sip count	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in switching between bites and sips	The number of switches between bites and sips during the meal	Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of pleasantness of the taste of food samples	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from not at all pleasant (0 mm) to extremely pleasant (100 mm). This will be used to calculate Sensory-Specific Satiety	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of prospective consumption of food samples	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from none at all (0 mm) to vary large amount (100 mm) how much of [this food] do you want to eat right now?. This will be used to calculate Sensory-Specific Satiety	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of hunger	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from not at all hungry (0 mm) to extremely hungry (100 mm)	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of thirst	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from not at all thirsty (0 mm) to extremely thirsty (100 mm)	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of nausea	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from not at all nauseated (0 mm) to extremely nauseated (100 mm)	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of fullness	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from not at all full (0 mm) to extremely full (100 mm)	From before the test meal to after the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of prospective consumption of the meal	Measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale ranging from nothing at all (0 mm) to a large amount (100 mm) in answer to the question 'How much food could you eat right now?'.	At the start of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of the size of the meal compared to participant's usual portion	100-point visual analog scale ranging from a lot smaller (0 mm) to a lot larger (100 mm)	At the start of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of how filling the participant expects this amount of food to be	100-point visual analog scale ranging from not at all filling (0 mm) to extremely filling (100 mm)	At the start of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to fullness	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to eating their usual amount	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to eating is no longer a priority	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to there being no food left	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to self-consciousness about amount consumed	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in rating of meal termination due to the food no longer tasting good	100-point visual analog scale ranging from strongly disagree (0 mm) to strongly agree (100 mm)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in estimation of proportion of meal eaten	100-point visual analog scale ranging from 0% to 100%	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Change in estimation of calories consumed at the meal	Open ended question (number of calories)	At the end of the test meal in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Penn State University
• Collaborators: Jenny Craig, Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): January 20, 2022
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): January 20, 2023
• Study Completion (Anticipated): January 27, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 17, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 8, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 10, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 10, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 8, 2021
• Last Verified: November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: FoodVariety101

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

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