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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – According to Penn State researchers, preschoolers might not resist as well to large servings of staple foods as before.
In one study, researchers examined whether children aged three to five were sensitive to the effect of portion size – the tendency for people to eat more when large portions are served.
They found that when they served larger portions of meals or typical snacks, children consumed more food, both in weight and in calories.
Alissa Smethers, a PhD student in nutrition science, said the results – recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – Suggest that caregivers be interested not only in the amount of food they serve, but also in the variety of foods.
"It's hard to define portions that are suitable for all preschoolers because their calorie needs vary due to differences in size, weight, and level of activity," Smethers said. "But it's a good idea to look at the proportions of the different foods you serve, with fruits and vegetables filling half the plate and with smaller portions of more caloric foods, as recommended in the USDA MyPlate Nutrition Guide. "
Barbara Rolls, Chair Helen A. Guthrie Chair and Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Ingested Human Behavior at Penn State, added that the results also suggest that the effect of the size of a portion can be used strategically by those responsible to help children eat more fruits and vegetables. .
"The advantage, it is that you can use the effect of portion size strategically, for example by serving larger portions of fruits and vegetables to increase their consumption," he said. declared Rolls. "You can also serve them at the beginning of the meal or alone as snacks.When there are no other foods competing with them, children may be more likely to eat them."
Smethers said that while it was known that adults probably ate more food when they received larger portions of food over time, some researchers felt that young children could guess the number of calories needed in foods and adapt their eating habits accordingly. called "self-regulation".
Previous studies have tested this theory by examining the eating habits of children during a meal or during a single day. But Smethers said that self-regulation could take longer – up to three or four days – and so she wished, along with the other researchers, to study the effect of the size of the serving in the child over a period of five days.
Researchers recruited 46 three to five-year-olds from University Park campus daycares for the five-day study. All meals and snacks were provided to children who, for a period of five days, received a basic portion – in accordance with the requirements of the childcare program and adults – and an increased portion 50%.
"In the large portion of meals, we wanted to serve portions that children could meet in their daily lives," said Smethers. "For example, instead of receiving four pieces of chicken nuggets, they would have six, which represents a 50% increase."
During the two five-day periods, children were allowed to eat as much or as little of their meals or snacks as they wished. Once the children have finished eating, the remaining foods have been weighed to measure the amount consumed by each child.
In addition, each child wore an accelerometer throughout each five-day period to measure his level of activity. The researchers also measured his height and weight.
After badyzing the data, the researchers found that serving larger portions led children to eat 16% more food than when they served the smaller portions, resulting in 18% more calories.
"If pre-school children had the ability to self-regulate, they should have felt that they were earning more money over the course of five days and had begun to eat less," he said. declared Rolls. "But we have not seen any evidence of that."
The researchers also found that children with higher BMI percentiles for their age were more likely to be influenced by larger portions. In addition, the effect of portion size seemed stronger in overweight or obese children than in others.
"We found that although the effect of portion size was overall powerful, some children seemed to be more sensitive to the effect than others," Smethers said. "Children judged to be more receptive to food when they found it were also more affected by portion size, while children who were aware of whether they were really hungry or not were less affected by the size of the portions. "
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Kathleen L. Keller, Associate Professor; Liane S. Roe, research nutritionist; Christine E. Sanchez, Research Technologist; and Samantha M.R. Kling, graduate student, all at Penn State; and Faris M. Zuraikat, a postdoctoral fellow at Irving Medical Center at Columbia University, also participated in this work.
The National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture contributed to this work.
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