Depicted Versus Stated Serving Sizes: Exaggerated Servings on Packaging Encourage Overeating

Abstract

Do food visuals (e.g., pictures of ice cream) that appear on the front of packaging exaggerate recommended serving sizes, and do they lead consumers to overserve? Serving size debates ignore the “suggested” serving size that is pictured on the front of packaging. If visual depictions exaggerate serving size information compared to the nutritional labeling, then these visual depictions could encourage consumers to overconsume unhealthy portions of the product. Study 1 compares the number of grams of ice cream shown on the front of packaging to the number of recommended grams per serving size for 51 different brands. In Study 2, 50 university faculty and staff served themselves ice cream from containers that either displayed an exaggerated serving size visual, or a recommended serving size visual. The number of grams of ice cream that is shown on the front of containers is compared to the recommended number of grams per serving size (Study 1). The average number of grams per individual serving is compared between groups (Study 2). Depicted visual portions of ice cream are, on average, 200% larger than recommended serving size (p = .001). Compared to faculty and staff who saw recommended serving size visuals, those who saw exaggerated portion size visuals served 22.7% more ice cream (p = .001). To help consumers make more informed serving size decisions, responsible food companies that wish to promote healthy portion sizes should either depict the actual serving size on their packaging, or clearly state how many servings are being depicted.