City Research Online

Abstract

This paper (i) explores the proposition that body weight is associated with large portion sizes and (ii) introduces a new technique for measuring everyday portion size. In our paradigm, the participant is shown a picture of a food portion and is asked to indicate whether it is larger or smaller than their usual portion. After responding to a range of different portions an estimate of everyday portion size is calculated using probit analysis. Importantly, this estimate is likely to be robust because it is based on many responses. First-year undergraduate students (N=151) completed our procedure for 12 commonly consumed foods. As expected, portion sizes were predicted by gender and by a measure of dieting and dietary restraint. Furthermore, consistent with reports of hungry supermarket shoppers, portion-size estimates tended to be higher in hungry individuals. However, we found no evidence for a relationship between BMI and portion size in any of the test foods. We consider reasons why this finding should be anticipated. In particular, we suggest that the difference in total energy expenditure of individuals with a higher and lower BMI is too small to be detected as a concomitant difference in portion size (at least in our sample).

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Appetite. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Appetite, Volume 51, Issue 2, September 2008, Pages 296–301, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.03.005.
Publisher Keywords:	Portion size; Hunger; Psychophysics; BMI; Method of constant stimuli; Dietary restraint; Dieting; Probit analysis; Energy expenditure; Energy intake
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Psychology
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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