How Portion Size and Paying Attention Affect Your Eating BehaviorIt has been suggested that we are often unaware of external factors that influence eating behavior (Wansink, 2006; Vartaninan et al., 2008).  There is a substantial body of research that shows external factors have a robust influence on eating behavior (Epstein et al., 2009; Remick et al., 2009; Rozin et al., 2003). 

These external factors include things such as portion size, labeling, variety of food we eat, and how much attention we pay when we’re eating (or whether we’re distracted by socializing, for instance). Even the plate size can affect how we eat.

Now, some researchers have suggested that external factors may play a larger role in eating behavior than internal factors, such as hunger, satiety, flavor, macro-nutrient content, and so on (Wansink et al., 2007; Levitsky, 2005; Wansink, et al., 2005). 

What’s behind these external or environmental factors and their role in how we eat?

4 Comments to
How Portion Size and Paying Attention Affect Your Eating Behavior

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  1. I’d be interested in your references. Perhaps you could include them as a link that someone could go to if they were interested?

    • Dear Julie,

      Let me know which references you would like to see and I can send the full reference. You can go to google scholar and type in the reference and you will find most of them.

      jhale

  2. This article did an excellent job of citing sources to support points. A final summary or concluding paragraph that ties things together would have been helpful, but even without it, a rich source of information.
    Wendi Born

  3. great..

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