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Size matters! the joint influence of the size of portion, food item and container on food intake

The effect of portion size on food intake is a well-documented phenomenon: when served larger portions, individuals significantly increase their food intake. Insofar authors have limited their research on presenting the potential outcomes, while identifying several conditions favorable to this phenomenon. Indeed, the mechanisms of this effect are poorly understood and no research has insofar provided conclusive evidence regarding the underlying mechanism that could help explain the portion size effect. The first part of this dissertation aimed to fill this gap. We argue that the anchoring and adjustment heuristic accounts for most of the favoring conditions evidenced in earlier research and present it as a possible mechanism underlying the portion size effect. In this view, the portion size served is used as an anchor whereas other influences (i.e. economical, metabolic, regulatory, physiological, sensory, social and environmental) may further contribute to adjust total amount of food consumed. Moreover, we argue that prevention strategies based on this decision making literature may be similarly effective to limit excess food intake from enlarged portions. <p><p>The second and third chapter of this dissertation focus on two other factors related to the portion size of foods, namely the container size and the structure of the portion (i.e. food item size). The discussion of this dissertation reviews the facilitating conditions put forward previously to understand the portion size effect, as well as those reinforcing this effect, and how they may be integrated in an anchoring and adjustment perspective of eating. Finally, it aims to provide a food intake model that may accommodate for most environmental influences, with a special focus on the three influences mentioned above. / Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ulb.ac.be/oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209740
Date25 January 2012
CreatorsMarchiori, David
ContributorsKlein, Olivier, Azzi, Assaad Elia, Razavi, Darius, Pandelaere, Mario, Corneille, Olivier, Cleeremans, Axel
PublisherUniversite Libre de Bruxelles, Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation, Bruxelles
Source SetsUniversité libre de Bruxelles
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:ulb-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:ulb-repo/semantics/openurl/vlink-dissertation
FormatNo full-text files

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