Download the report.
The Power of Portions
In March 2024, the Portion Balance Coalition released its flagship Power of Portions report, exploring how food portions connect to health and sustainability goals — including obesity reduction, long-term health outcomes, cost savings, and reduced food waste. Download the report.
The report offers a comprehensive look at portion sizes through the lens of consumer behavior, corporate health strategies, and industry efforts to reduce carbon footprint.
The goal of the 2022 Portion Balance Attitude and Action Tracking study was to determine whether consumers have made portion-specific behavior changes post-COVID compared to pre-COVID. The findings are clear: Americans want smaller food portions.
In 2019, the Portion Balance Coalition and National Consumers League commissioned a national survey with 4,700 participants, age 18 and over to understand consumer understanding of portions and portion-related behaviors. See the report: Addressing the Obesity Epidemic Through Portion Balance: A National Study on Portion Awareness and Attitudes.
In early 2018, a Delphi study, designed and administered by public health researchers at CUNY, resulted in a Collaboration Roadmap and an article published in Spring 2019.
Customizable Portions: A Cost-Conscious Approach to Reducing Plate Waste
Flexible Portions, Stronger Margins
Customizable Portions: A Cost-Conscious Approach to Reducing Plate Waste, a new white paper examining how flexible portion options in restaurants can reduce waste, improve cost performance, and strengthen the guest experience.
Developed by the Portion Balance Coalition at Georgetown University and The Earth Commons Institute, the Culinary Institute of America, the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, and ReFED.
Research & Reports
There has been extensive scientific research and reports conducted on the topic of portions and on obesity prevention in general. Below are a number of links to research that the PBC has referenced to inform its strategic plan and informs its continued work.
Portion Control
Overcoming Obesity: An Initial Economic Analysis (Full McKinsey Global Institute Report), Dobbs et.al., (2014), McKinsey Global Institute Discussion Paper
Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Hollands, G. J., Shemilt, I., Marteau, T. M., et al. (2015). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Downsizing food: a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of reducing served food portion sizes on daily energy intake and body weight -Robinson et al. (2022). British Journal of Nutrition (meta-analysis)
Larger portion sizes lead to a sustained increase in energy intake over 2 days. Rolls, B. J., Roe, L. S., & Meengs, J. S. (2006). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Portion size of food affects energy intake in normal-weight and overweight men and women – Rolls, B. J., Morris, E. L., & Roe, L. S. (2002). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition/
Portions in Restaurant Environments
Naming Matters: Prompting Smaller Portions in an Online Randomized Controlled Trial - Sophia Hua, PhD, MPH, et al, Harvard T.H.Chan, School of Public Health (2024)
Feasibility and Acceptability of Standardizing Portions in Restaurants - Cohen, D. A., Preciado, M., Voorhees, A., Castillo, A., Montes, M., Labisi, T., Lopez, K., Economos, C., & Story, M. (2024). Journal of Urban Health
Chef’s Opinions of Restaurant Portion Sizes -Condrasky, Marge, Jenny H. Ledikwe, Julie E. Flood, and Barbara J. Rolls. (2007) Obesity
Doggy bags and downsizing: Packaging uneaten food to go after a meal attenuates the portion size effect in women Zuraikat, F. M., Roe, L. S., Smethers, A. D., & Rolls, B. J. (2018). Appetite
Feasibility of working with a wholesale supplier to co-design and test acceptability of an intervention to promote smaller portions: an uncontrolled before- and after-study in British Fish & Chip shops Goffe, L., Hillier-Brown, et.al. (2019). BMJ Open
Menu-engineering in restaurants – adapting portions sizes on plates to enhance vegetable consumption: a real-life experiment Reinders, M. J., Huitink, M., Dijkstra, S. C., Maaskant, A. J., & Heijnen, J. (2017).
Mitigating the Health Risks of Dining Out: The Need for Standardized Portion Sizes in Restaurants Cohen, D. A., & Story, M. (2014). American Journal of Public Health
Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics Riis, J. (2014). International Journal of Obesity
Potential Moderators of the Portion Size Effect Zuraikat, F. M., Smethers, A. D., & Rolls, B. J. (2019). Physiology & Behavior
Consumer Behavior
Consumer Attitude and Behaviour Towards Food Waste Radzymińska, M., Jakubowska, D., & Staniewska, K. (2016). Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development
A Systemic Review of Calorie Labeling and Modified Calorie Labeling Interventions: Impact on Consumer and Restaurant Behavior Bleich, S. N., Economos, C. D. et.al. (2017). Obesity
Why is changing health-related behaviour so difficult? Birch, L. L., Savage, J. S., & Fisher, J. O. (2015). Preventive Medicine
Obesity
Personal Responsibility and Obesity: A Constructive Approach to a Controversial Issue Brownell, K. D., Kersh, R., et.al. (2010) Health Affairs
Reports
Portion size of pre-packaged food and drink and consumption behaviour, Institute of Grocery Distribution. (2012).
Collaboration Roadmap
In 2018, a Delphi survey developed and administered by a team of public health researchers at CUNY engaged many of the PBC members as they represent a multidisciplinary group from different interest groups in the fields of obesity, public health, food production, access and distribution, and the broader nutrition field. This study consisted of three successive rounds of surveys to a panel of respondents over three-month period, from the end of January to the end of March, 2018. Survey results and analysis were published on January 30, 2019 in the article “Informing a roadmap for cross‐sectoral collaboration on portion size management as a national strategy to improve population nutrition – a Delphi study” in Obesity Science & Practice.
Case Studies
The Portion Balance Coalition aims to highlight positive marketplace innovations involving food and beverage portions.
If you are interested in having a portion-related initiative or project profiled in a case study, please contact us at Georgetown Business For Impact.
Taco Bell
Learn how Taco Bell, the nation’s leading Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant (QSR) brand with approximately 350 franchise organizations operating 7,000 restaurants across the U.S., eliminated its extra-large (“XL”) beverage cup size.
Panera Bread
One of the U.S.’s largest national restaurant chains led with a health and wellness lens as it launched its new beverage line called “Sweetness for Every Taste” and improved the nutrition and calorie profile of its bakery good offerings. Learn in this case study how the company achieved this win-win in terms of profitability and public health.
Consumer Experience Mapping
In fall 2018, over 35 representatives from the major sectors participated in Georgetown Business for Impact-facilitated workshops to co-create consumer experience maps based on four distinct Millennial personas, composite sketches compiled from consumer research and data. Common needs, motivations, behaviors, thought processes, and backgrounds were outlined to make the personas feel like a real person.
Consumer experience maps are valuable tools for inspiring empathy and a shared understanding of the challenges facing various individuals. The exercise was designed to demonstrate the value of having multiple sector voices and perspectives working together to co-create a “day in the life”, which provided a window into the food environment of these millennial personas.