The effect of portion size on food intake is robust to brief education and mindfulness exercises

Karen Cavanagh; Lenny R Vartanian; C Peter Herman; Janet Polivy

doi:10.1177/1359105313478645

The effect of portion size on food intake is robust to brief education and mindfulness exercises

J Health Psychol. 2014 Jun;19(6):730-9. doi: 10.1177/1359105313478645. Epub 2013 Mar 7.

Authors

Karen Cavanagh¹, Lenny R Vartanian², C Peter Herman³, Janet Polivy³

Affiliations

¹ The University of New South Wales, Australia.
² The University of New South Wales, Australia lvartanian@psy.unsw.edu.au.
³ University of Toronto, Canada.

PMID: 23471762
DOI: 10.1177/1359105313478645

Abstract

We examined whether a brief education and a brief mindfulness exercise would reduce the effect of portion size on food intake. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three information conditions (education, mindfulness, or control) and then received a small or large portion of pasta for lunch. Neither education nor mindfulness was effective in reducing the effect of portion size: Overall, participants served a large portion consumed 34 percent more pasta than did those served a small portion. Participants in the mindfulness condition tended to eat less overall than participants did in the two other conditions, but this trend was not significant.

Keywords: eating; eating behavior; education; food; information.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Feeding Behavior / psychology*
Female
Health Education*
Humans
Mindfulness*
Portion Size*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult