Children’s bite size and intake of an entrée are greater with large portions than with age-appropriate or self-selected portions
Open accessAbstract
Background Whether large portion sizes affect children's eating behavior has rarely been studied.Objectives Our objectives were 1) to determine the effects of repeated exposure to a large portion of an entrée on preschool-aged children's awareness of portion size, self-selected portion size, and food intake and 2) to evaluate associations of children's responsiveness to portion size with weight status and overeating.Design Energy intake, bite size, and comments about portion size were evaluated among 30 children at 2 series of lunches in which either an age-appropriate portion or a large portion of an entrée was served. On separate occasions, the children's self-served portions, weight, height, and tendency to overeat were assessed.Results Doubling an age-appropriate portion of an entrée increased entrée and total energy intakes at lunch by 25% and 15%, respectively. Changes were attributable to increases in the average size of the children's bites of the entrée without compensatory decreases in the intake of other foods served at the meal. These increases were seen even though observational data indicated that the children were largely unaware of changes in portion size. Greater responsiveness to portion size was associated with higher levels of overeating. The children consumed 25% less of the entrée when allowed to serve themselves than when served a large entrée portion.Conclusions Large entrée portions may constitute an "obesigenic" environmental influence for preschool-aged children by producing excessive intake at meals. Children with satiety deficits may be most susceptible to large portions. Allowing children to select their own portion size may circumvent the effects of exposure to large portions on children's eating.
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There are many human studies showing acute effects of manipulating palatability, variability, and availability of food, although few controlled studies show long-term effects on energy balance.
“There are also plenty of human studies showing acute effects of manipulating palatability, variability, and availability of food ([191](#B191), [192](#B192)), although few controlled studies show long-term effects on energy balance ([120](#B120), [134](#B134)).”
From Food reward, hyperphagia, and obesity (2011) · cites this paper as [120]
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- Authors
- Fisher, J. O., Rolls, B. J., & Birch, L. L.
- Affiliations
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-05
- Volume
- 77
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1164-1170
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2530925
- OpenAlex
- W2103550802
- Cited by
- 431
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 38
- FWCI
- 16.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD032973)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- portion size, children's eating behavior, preschool children, bite size, overeating, weight status, satiety, energy intake
- MeSH terms
- Energy Intake, Child, Preschool, Eating, Feeding Behavior, Female, Food, Humans, Male, Obesity, Satiation, Cross-Over Studies
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