Mitigating the health risks of dining out: The need for standardized portion sizes in restaurants

D.A. Cohen and M. Story

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 4, 586-590

Abstract: Because restaurants routinely serve food with more calories than people need, dining out represents a risk factor for overweight, obesity, and other diet-related chronic diseases. Most people lack the capacity to judge the caloric content of food and there is limited evidence that people make use of calorie-labeling information when it is available. Standardized portion sizes would not preclude people from eating as much as they want, but would make the amount they are getting fully transparent. We describe the potential benefits and means of implementing a systemof standardized portion sizes that might facilitate a healthier diet among the US population.

Keywords: article; catering service; economics; food; food industry; food packaging; human; obesity; risk factor; standard; United States, Food; Food Industry; Food Labeling; Humans; Obesity; Restaurants; Risk Factors; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2013.301692_3

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301692

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