TY - JOUR
T1 - Doggy bags and downsizing
T2 - Packaging uneaten food to go after a meal attenuates the portion size effect in women
AU - Zuraikat, Faris M.
AU - Roe, Liane S.
AU - Smethers, Alissa D.
AU - Rolls, Barbara J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant number R01-DK059853 ], the USDA [National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant 2011-67001-30117 Program A2121-Childhood Obesity Prevention: Transdisciplinary Graduate Education and Training in Nutrition and Family Sciences], and unrestricted gift money given to the laboratory by Jenny Craig, Inc. ® The sponsors did not have a role in any of the following: study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of data; writing of the report; and decision to submit the article for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - Serving larger portions leads to increased food and energy intake, but little is known about strategies to moderate this response. This study tested how the effect of portion size on meal intake was influenced by providing the option to take away uneaten food in a “doggy bag” (to-go container). Women were randomly assigned to one of two subject groups: a To-Go Group (n = 27) that was informed before each meal that their leftover food would be packaged to take away after the meal, and a Control Group (n = 26) that was not given this option. In a crossover design, subjects came to the lab once a week for four weeks to eat a dinner composed of five foods. Across meals, the portion size of all foods was varied (100%, 125%, 150%, and 175% of baseline). Results showed that the portion size effect, defined as the trajectory of intake across the weight of food served, differed significantly by subject group (P ≤ 0.025). In the Control Group, increasing the portion size of all foods led to substantial increases in intake (P < 0.0001); for every 100 g added to the baseline portion, women in this group consumed an additional mean (±SEM) of 64 ± 12 g of food and 90 ± 19 kcal, until intake leveled off. In contrast, intake of women in the To-Go Group increased by only 17 ± 12 g and 19 ± 18 kcal for every additional 100 g served; these increases did not differ significantly from zero (P > 0.15). Thus, the effect of portion size on intake was attenuated in the To-Go Group compared to the Control Group. These data indicate that packaging uneaten food after a meal could be an effective strategy to reduce overconsumption from large portions.
AB - Serving larger portions leads to increased food and energy intake, but little is known about strategies to moderate this response. This study tested how the effect of portion size on meal intake was influenced by providing the option to take away uneaten food in a “doggy bag” (to-go container). Women were randomly assigned to one of two subject groups: a To-Go Group (n = 27) that was informed before each meal that their leftover food would be packaged to take away after the meal, and a Control Group (n = 26) that was not given this option. In a crossover design, subjects came to the lab once a week for four weeks to eat a dinner composed of five foods. Across meals, the portion size of all foods was varied (100%, 125%, 150%, and 175% of baseline). Results showed that the portion size effect, defined as the trajectory of intake across the weight of food served, differed significantly by subject group (P ≤ 0.025). In the Control Group, increasing the portion size of all foods led to substantial increases in intake (P < 0.0001); for every 100 g added to the baseline portion, women in this group consumed an additional mean (±SEM) of 64 ± 12 g of food and 90 ± 19 kcal, until intake leveled off. In contrast, intake of women in the To-Go Group increased by only 17 ± 12 g and 19 ± 18 kcal for every additional 100 g served; these increases did not differ significantly from zero (P > 0.15). Thus, the effect of portion size on intake was attenuated in the To-Go Group compared to the Control Group. These data indicate that packaging uneaten food after a meal could be an effective strategy to reduce overconsumption from large portions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.appet.2018.07.009
DO - 10.1016/j.appet.2018.07.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 29990524
AN - SCOPUS:85049748684
SN - 0195-6663
VL - 129
SP - 162
EP - 170
JO - Appetite
JF - Appetite
ER -