Portion Balance Coalition Research

In early 2018, a Delphi study designed and administered by public health researchers at CUNY resulted in a Collaboration Roadmap with an article published in spring 2019.

In 2019, the Portion Balance Coalition and National Consumers League commissioned a national survey with 4,700 participants, age 18 and over to understand consumer understanding of portions and portion-related behaviors. The report, Addressing the Obesity Epidemic Through Portion Balance: A National Study on Portion Awareness and Attitudes can be found HERE.

Research & Reports

There has been extensive scientific research and reports conducted on the topic of portions and on obesity prevention in general. Below are a number of links to research that the PBC has referenced to inform its strategic plan and informs its continued work.

Consumer Behavior:

Consumer Attitude and Behaviour Towards Food Waste

A Systemic Review of Calorie Labeling and Modified Calorie Labeling Interventions: Impact on Consumer and Restaurant Behavior

Why is changing health-related behaviour so difficult?

Obesity Research:

Personal Responsibility and Obesity: A Constructive Approach to a Controversial Issue

Portions Research:

Chef’s Opinions of Restaurant Portion Sizes

Children’s bite size and intake of an entrée are greater with large portions than with age-appropriate or self-selected portions 

Doggy bags and downsizing: Packaging uneaten food to go after a meal attenuates the portion size effect in women

The Effect of Mindful Restaurant Eating Intervention on Weight Management in Women

Feasibility of working with a wholesale supplier to co-design and test acceptability of an intervention to promote smaller portions: an uncontrolled before- and after-study in British Fish & Chip shops

Identifying Barriers to Reducing Portion Size: A Qualitative Focus Group Study of British Men and Women

Menu-engineering in restaurants – adapting portions sizes on plates to enhance vegetable consumption: a real-life experiment

Mitigating the Health Risks of Dining Out: The Need for Standardized Portion Sizes in Restaurants

Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics

Portion size and later food intake: evidence on the “normalizing” effect of reducing food portion sizes

Potential Moderators of the Portion Size Effect

Reductions to main meal portion sizes reduce daily energy intake regardless of perceived normality of portion size: a 5 day cross-over laboratory experiment

What is the role of portion control in weight management?

Reports:

Portion size of pre-packaged food and drink and consumption behaviour, August 2012

Tools

The Portion Balance Coalition held workshops in fall 2018 to develop Consumer Experience Maps representing four Millennial personas.