Most restaurant portions are getting laughably huge, so it’s always exciting when multiple sizes are offered. But watch out: You may eat more than you want to just because of how your portion is labeled. When an order of food is called “regular,” people consume more calories than when the same portion is called “double-sized,” according to a new study from Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab.
Researchers gave two groups of participants two different portion sizes of spaghetti: 1-cup and 2-cup servings. In one group, they labeled the sizes “half-size” (1 cup) and “regular” (2 cups), while the other group saw “regular” (1 cup) and “double-sized” (2 cups) labels. When participants thought they were eating a “double-sized” portion, they consumed an average of 140 fewer calories than the people who thought their 2-cup portion was the norm.
While it’s comforting to know that labels like “double” usually deter people from clearing their plates, the fact is that many restaurants’ “regular” sizes are actually pretty excessive. And if you assume that’s the norm, you may be taking in way more calories than you need. “Without some sort of cue about how big the portions you’re eating are, you just assume this is a normal size and you eat it,” says study coauthor David Just, PhD, associate professor at Cornell University. “And alternatively, if it’s labeled the mega-portion, you have some cue that you shouldn’t be eating all this.”
Unfortunately, not all restaurants list various sizes of the same item on a menu. So Just suggests thinking about portion control before the enormous plate of pasta hits the table. “You can request a half portion,” he says. “Often they don’t have it on the menu but are willing to do it if you ask.” And if they don’t offer that option, you can always ask them to put half of the entrée directly into a to-go box for you to take home. “The real trick is to have some forethought,” says Just. Because you know once that laptop-sized “personal” pizza is in front of you, you may not be able to resist eating the whole thing.
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