Tackling the Obesity Epidemic: Examining the Relationship between Food Portion Sizes and Consumer Behaviour

Obesity is quickly becoming a major worldwide problem and with food (over)consumption recognised as a primary driver of obesity and associated social- and health-oriented costs, it has been recognised that the drivers of food... [ view full abstract ]

Obesity is quickly becoming a major worldwide problem and with food (over)consumption recognised as a primary driver of obesity and associated social- and health-oriented costs, it has been recognised that the drivers of food overconsumption require further investigation. Several studies have linked increased portion sizes to caloric overconsumption (Young and Nestle, 2007; Wansink, 2012; Vermeer et al., 2010; Piernas and Popkin, 2011) however as noted by Zlatevska et al (2014), there are still considerable research gaps to be addressed as regards the relationship between portion size selection and obesity. The present research project aims to address three questions: (1) What is the impact of portion size on consumer choices? (2) What are the trade-offs that consumers make between portion size and other obesity or health related food characteristics? and (3) what are the primary drivers of eating cessation and how do they interact with portion size?
To address the research questions, a mixed method approach is being employed, with an initial qualitative study designed to elucidate participants’ portion size choice factors and eating cessation factors. A subsequent quantitative computer aided experiment will be conducted, aimed at investigating portion size effects, by enabling participants to select portion-sizes for selected lunchtime meals.