With obesity levels on the rise, MEP Mairead McGuinness has called on the Commission to set realistic portion sizes to stop consumers being misled over nutrition values. People don't calculate how many 100 g servings are in a bowl of soup, she says.
Larger serving sizes on a food’s packaging encourage people to eat less, US researchers have found, as consumer groups in Europe put pressure on policymakers to help food manufacturers set realistic portion sizes.
Nutrition values seen on labels can differ substantially based on the recommended serving size, with consumers buying more of the same product among one of a number of undesirable consumer behaviours, researchers have found.
The government should update its advice on food portion sizes urgently, warns a leading charity, after researchers advised smaller food packages could help to cut Britain’s obesity crisis.
European guidance on portion sizing is out of date and does not reflect how portion sizes have changed over time, claims a new report from the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
Nutritional info should be given per portion not just per 100g, say new IGD guidelines to help food businesses provide consistent information on portion sizes.
Good things come in small packages. That seems to be the belief of time-pressed consumers in the UK, who are buying more cakes that come in individual packages than five years ago.
A workshop convened by the FSA has identified some food categories
for action on portion sizes, as a report finds that some products
sold in the UK may have increased in size over the last 15-20
years.
Portion sizes have again been linked to rising obesity levels in
the US, with a new study indicating that people may be eating more
because they are unaware of the reference portion sizes encouraged
for a healthy diet.
Part of the reason why the French weigh less than Americans is that
their culture dictates smaller portion sizes as the appropriate
food unit, discouraging them from consuming more, according to a
recent study.
