Multisectoral Strategies Needed to Establish Healthy Portion Size Norms That Disincentivize Hyperpalatable, Energy-Dense Foods and Sugary Beverages in Food Environments Linked to Obesity and Diet-Related Chronic Diseases in the United States

Differences between the normal and perceived appropriate portion sizes of discretionary foods

“…This nding is consistent with a proposed theory that the conceptualisation process of the normal and perceived appropriate portion sizes might be different [17]. Personal norms and the perception of own usual intake appear to play a major role in the formation of normal portion sizes, whereas social factors and norms such as peer in uence, and cultural customs and conventions, may be more closely connected with perceived appropriate portion sizes [40,41]. Overconsumption of palatable discretionary foods is commonly regarded as 'inappropriate' and lacking self-control [34], the signi cantly lower perceived appropriate portion sizes than normal portion sizes is likely to be associated with the tendency to behave in a socially approved manner [25,40].…”

“…This indicates approximately half of participants exceeded these targets. Thus, changes to the current food environment would be essential to reduce the normal portion sizes to align with the recommendations and better understanding of consumers' acceptance of serving size reductions and portion control campaigns is required [19,41,47]. We acknowledge that portion sizes reported in this study were speci c to a single sitting only whilst Australian adults were found to consume discretionary foods at more than six eating occasions on a daily basis [48].…”

“…We acknowledge that downsizing the serving or package is only one of the many public health strategies to reduce discretionary foods portion sizes and prevent excessive intake. Other strategies including proportional pricing, food labelling, and packaging cues [19,41], together with the active engagement and partnerships between stakeholders (for example, industry bodies, government organisation, retailers) are crucial to create a healthier food environment that encourage more appropriate portion size selections.…”