To find out, the researchers gathered three groups of women: 34
women who were overweight and had not participated in the previous trial, 29
healthy “control” women who had a regular weight and who had also not
participated in the trial, and finally, 39 women with overweight and obesity
who had taken part in the portion-controlling trial.
During the study, all women were served the same foods once a
week for 4 weeks, but the size of their food increased in a random order.
Additionally — and significantly — the calorie content of the
food served also varied. The foods ranged from high-calorie ones, such as
garlic bread, to low-calorie foods, such as salads.
However, the participants who had been trained in portion
control in the previous trial consumed fewer calories than
the untrained participants.
“The lower energy intake of trained participants was
attributable to consuming meals with a greater proportion of lower-[energy
density] foods than controls,” write the authors.
“All the groups were served the same meals, but their food
choices differed,” explains the study’s lead author. “The participants who went
through the training consumed more of the lower calorie-dense foods and less of
the higher calorie-dense foods than the untrained
controls.”
“Consequently, trained participants’ calorie intake was less
than that of the control groups, whose intake didn’t differ by weight status.”
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