Levitsky David A, Youn Trisha
Department of Nutrition, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6301, USA.
J Nutr. 2004 Oct;134(10):2546-9. doi: 10.1093/jn/134.10.2546.
Young and Nestle suggested that the increase in the portion size of food products evident in the United States during the past 20 years may be responsible for the epidemic of overweight and obesity. They based their conclusion on statistical correlations. The purpose of the present study was to provide experimental evidence to support their proposal. Cornell undergraduate students were given access to a buffet lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and were told this was a test of flavor enhancers. They were instructed to eat as much or as little as they wanted. On the same days of the following week, the subjects were divided into 3 groups. Each group was served either 100%, 125%, or 150% of the amount of food they had consumed the previous week. When larger amounts were served, significantly greater amounts of food were consumed. Each of the 4 foods that comprised the meal (soup, pasta, breadsticks, ice cream) increased significantly in proportion to the portion size. The data clearly support the hypothesis proposed by Young and Nestle and support the powerful role that environment plays in determining energy intake and potential increases in body weight.
扬和雀巢指出，在过去20年里美国食品份量明显增加，这可能是超重和肥胖流行的原因。他们的结论基于统计相关性。本研究的目的是提供实验证据来支持他们的提议。康奈尔大学的本科生在周一、周三和周五可以享用自助午餐，并被告知这是对风味增强剂的测试。他们被指示想吃多少就吃多少。在接下来一周的同一天，受试者被分成3组。每组所提供的食物量分别是他们前一周摄入量的100%、125%或150%。当提供的食物量更多时，受试者摄入的食物量显著增加。构成这顿饭的4种食物（汤、意大利面、面包棒、冰淇淋）的摄入量与份量大小成比例地显著增加。数据清楚地支持了扬和雀巢提出的假设，并支持了环境在决定能量摄入和体重潜在增加方面所起的重要作用。
