The size is not prohibited even with S size, the size notation of food is too much to eat · possibility of becoming the source of obesity

In the fast food shops and the like, the amount of S - L size is displayed, and compared with the L size, the S size is obviously small, so it is easy to think that if you choose it, you can suppress the calorie intake, but this kind of It was pointed out that prejudice based on size may contribute to obesity.

It is relieved by choosing a small size, in fact it has been revealed in the experiment that it does not notice even if you eat more than it. Size notation is easy to understand, but it seems that overeating may be progressed by being misled by it.

The contents of the experiment are as follows.'Small' Portions Can Fool Us into Eating More | Eating Habits, Obesity & Weight Gain, Food Portion Size | My Health News Daily

Although choosing S size with fast food etc. seems to be refraining from intake of calories at first glance, in fact it has been understood that there is a danger of being deceived by the size notation and eating more quantity It was.

It seems to be problematic to have prejudice according to the size described in food. For example, I am relieved by being conscious of eating S size in S - L size, I ate a lot of quantity instead, and it is terrifying that people eating themselves do not notice the tricks themselves It's called.

"The findings suggest that the size notation of food may contribute to the epidemic of obesity.If the size notation of food is used as a standard, many people think that they are too big for meals I can not recognize that I did it, so it will also be cheating on my stomach, "said Aradhna Krishna, professor of marketing at the University of Michigan.

The result that S size causes eating too much was derived based on five experiments conducted at the laboratory and one experiment conducted in real life events.

In an experiment conducted based on real life, researchers deliberately manipulated snacks served at a meeting where 76 participants attended. First of all, we will place a plate with 15 cookies on the table in the rest room. I used all the same plates, but labeled "M size" on some tables and "L size" on the other tables. Those who picked cookies from the table labeled M size saw cookies on average about 12 grams more than those taken from a table written as L size, but they themselves Argued that he must have eaten less than people who ate cookies from an L size table.


Researchers also found similar results in laboratory studies. Also, when given the task to do before eating snacks, the twist of consciousness, that is, the discrepancy between my amount of eating and the actual amount became worse. "Eating while doing something makes it difficult to judge the amount, and they will be more difficult with label prejudice." Professor Krishna says,

Then, how big is the influence of ambiguous size notation like Starbucks coffee drink size, like "Venti" which is larger than "L" size "Grande"? Researchers have not studied directly on this question, but they see that ambiguity in size will make the situation even worse.

According to Professor Krishna, "Because the size notation is ambiguous and difficult to understand, there is a possibility of promoting eating a lot without feeling guilty.If you ordered" Venti "in Starbucks, that word itself I do not have the concept of large and small, so I might misunderstand that I do not drink a large amount. "

Although this is slightly different from Japan in the story around the United States to the end, there are many people who eat or drink without fear of French fries or sweet drinks if it is S size. It seems to be said that it is important to manage your own eating habits, not to rely too much on the size notation so as not to overwhelm yourself that you are overwhelmed by the small quantity.