Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON, Jul 17, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A study released Wednesday says U.S. portion sizes have never been bigger -- and bigger portions result in overeating.
The American Institute for Cancer Research says bigger portions increase consumption by as much as 56 percent.
Dr. Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University explained how emerging science is allowing scientists to definitively answer lingering questions about the role of portion size in the obesity epidemic.
Rolls conducted a study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, testing how subjects responded to four different portions of macaroni and cheese served on different days. Study participants consumed 30 percent more calories on days when they were served the largest portion.
-- In another study, published in the journal Appetite, subjects were offered differently sized submarine sandwiches over four days: six-inch, eight-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch sandwiches. When served the 12-inch sandwich, compared with the six-inch, women consumed 31 percent more calories and men consumed 56 percent more.
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
