Downsizing Portion Size Could Help You Lose Weight – Study

Are you tired of being embarrassed about your bulging abdomen that protrudes? Have you failed in your efforts to get rid of an overabundance of oodles around your midsection using all conventional methods like strict diet and regular exercise? Well, if your answer is yes, we are giving you a simple yet effective solution in this article.

A new study claims downsizing your large food portions and tableware could help you achieve weight loss and combat obesity successfully.

A team of researchers led by Theresa Marteau, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Cambridge in England recently conducted a Cochrane review and found that intake of food and non-alcoholic drinks consistently increases when larger-sized portions or packages are offered, or when served in larger items of tableware.

According to the study report, downsizing larger portions could have a significant effect on British and American calorie intake.

The report predicts it could reduce daily calorie consumption by 12% to 16 % among UK adults, while reducing larger portions to those of the 1950’s could drop U.S. citizens’ average daily calorie consumption by 22% to 29%, found the research team.

“The causes of obesity are complex, but overconsumption of food and sugary drinks is a critical proximal determinant, driven in part by large portion sizes,” the researchers noted in the report. “The importance of developing interventions and policies to reduce the size, availability, and appeal of large portions is underscored by the compelling evidence that people eat and drink more from larger portions.”

However, bringing the portion size down is more easy to imagine that to implement, the researchers argue.

“As exposure to larger portions has become more common, these sizes have come to be viewed as appropriate, with consumption correspondingly increasing. This suggests that reductions in portion size might, over time, recalibrate consumption norms,” the researchers said.

The team still hopes the significant reductions in the amount of food people consume can be achieved if the government intervenes to increase awareness of appropriate portions by making it mandatory for food packages to display information about the serving size where it is immediately noticeable. The public sector could also contribute by serving smaller portions at schools, hospitals, government offices and other public workplaces.

Tableware manufacturers should design utensils that encourage smaller mouthfuls such as straight-sided glasses, smaller, shallower plates, and smaller spoons and forks.

“Successful interventions, if implemented at sufficient scale, have the potential to help prevent obesity as part of a wider obesity strategy. Aligning the will of the public, private industry, and political leadership is key to progress,” Marteau and team concluded.

Funded by the U.K. Department of Health, the study is published in the BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal).

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Downsizing Portion Size Could Help You Lose Weight – Study