title: Portion-size preference as a function of individuals' body mass index.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Large portions of food are often blamed for rising rates of obesity. We tested the possibility that people who are heavier may tend to select or prefer larger portions than do people who are lighter.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (totalN= 798) were asked to choose between a small and larger portion of pasta for a hypothetical meal (Studies 1, 2 and 4), to indicate their ideal portion from a range of portion-size options (Study 2), or to select their preferred portion size from each of 28 portion pairs (Study 3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all studies, there were no significant differences between heavier and lighter participants in their portion-size selection (effect sizes ranged fromd= -0.06 to 0.33). The pattern was the same regardless of whether we grouped participants as having a body mass index (BMI) <25 vs. ≥25, as having a BMI of <30 vs. ≥30, or treated BMI as a continuous predictor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the lack of association between BMI and portion-size preference, we suggest that factors other than portion size, such as differences in meal frequency, food type, plate clearing or compensation at subsequent meals, may need to be considered in order to explain the increasing prevalence of obesity.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology UNSW Australia Sydney New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Reily
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology UNSW Australia Sydney New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Vartanian
keywords: Food choice; obesity; overweight; portion size