Department of Community and Global Public Health, Arcadia University, Glenside, Pennsylvania, USA.
Pediatrics. 2013 May;131(5):e1451-8. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2330. Epub 2013 Apr 8.
Dishware size is thought to influence eating behaviors, but effects on children's self-served portion sizes and intakes have not been studied. We aimed to evaluate whether larger dishware increased children's self-served portion sizes and intake during meals.
A within-subjects experimental design was used to test the effects of dishware size (ie, plates and bowls) on children's self-served portion sizes and intakes in a naturalistic setting. Subjects were predominantly African American elementary school-aged children (n = 42) observed on repeated occasions during school lunch. Children served themselves an entree and side dishes using either child- or adult-size dishware, which represented a 100% increase in the surface area of plates and volume of bowls across conditions. Condition order was randomly assigned and counterbalanced across 2 first-grade classrooms. Entrées of amorphous and unit form were evaluated on separate days. Fruit and vegetable side dishes were evaluated at each meal. Fixed portions of milk and bread were provided at each meal.
Children served more energy (mean = 90.1 kcal, SE = 29.4 kcal) when using adult-size dishware. Adult-size dishware promoted energy intake indirectly, where every additional calorie served resulted in a 0.43-kcal increase in total energy intakes at lunch (t = 7.72, P = .001).
Children served themselves more with larger plates and bowls and consumed nearly 50% of the calories that they served. This provides new evidence that children's self-served portion sizes are influenced by size-related facets of their eating environments, which, in turn, may influence children's energy intake.
餐具尺寸被认为会影响进食行为，但尚未研究其对儿童自助份量和摄入量的影响。我们旨在评估较大的餐具是否会在就餐期间增加儿童的自助份量和摄入量。
采用被试内实验设计，在自然环境中测试餐具尺寸（即盘子和碗）对儿童自助份量和摄入量的影响。研究对象主要为非洲裔美国小学生（n=42），在学校午餐期间多次观察。儿童使用儿童或成人尺寸的餐具自助选择主菜和配菜，这代表在两种条件下，盘子的表面积和碗的体积增加了 100%。条件顺序随机分配，并在两个一年级教室之间平衡。分别在两天评估非固体和单位形式的主菜。在每餐评估水果和蔬菜配菜。每餐提供固定份量的牛奶和面包。
当使用成人尺寸的餐具时，儿童提供的能量更多（平均值=90.1 卡路里，SE=29.4 卡路里）。成人尺寸的餐具通过间接方式促进了能量摄入，每增加一卡路里的份量，午餐时的总能量摄入量就会增加 0.43 卡路里（t=7.72，P=0.001）。
儿童使用较大的盘子和碗时会自行提供更多食物，并且几乎摄入了他们所提供的卡路里的 50%。这提供了新的证据表明，儿童的自助份量受到其饮食环境中与尺寸相关的方面的影响，而这反过来又可能影响儿童的能量摄入。
