WASHINGTON – When you see food labeled small, medium or large and it may have no relationship to actual portion sizes. And those labels can affect how much people end up eating.
People given a bowl of pasta labeled “double sized” end up leaving ten times more food on their plates than people eating the same sized bowl of pasta labeled as a “regular” serving.
Researchers at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab say their study, “One Man’s Tall is Another Man’s Small” shows there should be uniform standards for how portions are described.
Labels also influence how much people are willing to pay for a portion.
According to the Cornell study people are willing to fork out far less money for a serving called “half size.”
