Thursday, September 6, 2007

Does portion size affect how much we eat?

n 2005 a study in America revealed that the size of a container can powerfully and unknowingly increase how much food a person consumes.

To illustrate this we reconstructed the study to see if a larger container led to an increase in consumption.

We took 150 movie goers and gave half of them large size buckets of popcorn (120g) and the other half extra large ones twice the size (240g). As an added test we even gave half of the audience stale popcorn. Then we waited until the film was over to see just how much they left behind.

"45% more popcorn was eaten"

The results showed that 45% more popcorn was eaten when it was given in extra large containers.

What does this illustrate? That when we supersize snacks our perception of what is an ‘acceptable’ amount to consume increases. So, if you don’t want to eat more than you need, steer clear of supersizing.

The larger the portion the more you will eat.

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