We have a bad habit of biting off more than we should chew... Dr
Karl weighs up the portion size effect. We humans have been
around for hundreds of thousands of years, and for most of that
time, food has been hard to get. We've had a relatively stable
food supply (thanks to agriculture) for only about 10,000 years.
Now lots of people have weird relationships with food. For
example, did you know that if you are offered varying amounts of
food on a plate, you'll end up eating more if there's more food
on the plate? This can happen regardless of how hungry you are.
Welcome to the famous portion size effect. In one typical study,
people were offered a macaroni-and-cheese dish for their lunch.
It came in various weights — 500, 625, 750 and 1,000 grams.
People ate 30 per cent more food if they were offered the 1,000
gram portion as compared to 500 grams. The portion size effect
is also clearly seen at the movies. People stuff themselves
more, when their portion of popcorn or candy is larger —
regardless of how hung