The Effect of Food Unit Sizes and Meal Serving Occasions on Eating Behaviour Characteristics: Within Person Randomised Crossover Studies on Healthy Women

Abstract

Manipulating food properties and serving environment during a meal can significantly change food intake at group level. However, the evaluation of the usefulness of such manipulations requires an understanding of individual behavioural changes. Three studies were conducted to explore the effect of unit size and meal occasion on eating behaviour characteristics (food intake, meal duration, number of bites and chews). All studies used a randomised crossover design, with a one-week wash-out period, starting with a familiarisation meal, with the participation of healthy, normal weight females between the ages of 18–35 years. In Study 1 (n = 19) three cube sizes (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm3) of vegetable hash and chicken were compared. In Study 2 (n = 18) mashed potatoes and mincemeat were compared to whole potatoes and meatballs. In Study 3 (n = 29) meals served at lunch time (11:00–13:00) were compared to identical meals served at dinner time (17:00–19:00). The largest food unit size lead to significantly increased meal duration in Study 2 (mean difference 0.9 min, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0–1.8), but not in Study 1 (mean difference 1 min, 95% CI 0.1–2.0). There was a significant increase in number of chews in the large unit size condition of both Study 1 (mean difference 88, 95% CI 12–158) and Study 2 (mean difference 95, 95% CI 12–179). Different serving occasions did not significantly change any of the eating behaviours measured. Except for number of bites in Study 2 (R2 = 0.60), most individuals maintained their eating behaviour relative to the group across unit sizes and serving occasions conditions (R2 > 0.75), which suggests single meal testing can provide information about the behavioural characteristics of individual eating styles under different conditions.

Validation of a Deep Learning System for the Full Automation of Bite and Meal Duration Analysis of Experimental Meal Videos

“…Efforts to use off-the-shelf wearable technologies (e.g., smartwatches) for meal analyses are promising [35], but they are currently not widely available for large-scale use. Thus, the predominant methodology for objective, non-invasive behavioral analysis of meals is the use of video observation, especially for studies performed in controlled [16] and semi-controlled settings [36]. Further, video meal analysis is usually the "ground truth" for the development of other objective analysis methodologies.…”

“…After the initial instructions, the researcher exited the dining room and returned only after the termination of the meal. This procedure, as well as the recording location, was identical for TD and BD meals, and similar to practices that we previously published [3,16,29].…”

“…2012/219-31/5, 2014/535-31/3 and 2015/2003-31). The analyzed datasets include a mix of control measurements presented in [16], complemented with additional, not previously analyzed, meals. RABiD was later used to analyze the behavioral analysis dataset and the outcomes of this analysis were compared with the analysis outcomes based on manual video annotations.…”

“…The duration of meals is one of the main behavioral parameters that is routinely studied in such settings, usually in parallel with total meal food intake [16]. Indeed, current evidence associates the speed of eating with overweight and obesity, with increased speed of eating contributing to higher energy intake [17], potentially being associated with the development [18] and maintenance of obesity [19].…”

“…Another widely studied behavioral parameter is the number of bites individuals take during meals, which has been previously associated with the portion size of a meal [2,20], with some researchers proposing the quantification of bites as an alternative for energy intake measurements [21]. Overall, the behavioral analysis of meals with different foods has revealed that most individuals maintain their eating profile in laboratory conditions [22], allowing meal characteristics to be used to classify individuals [16]. Regarding the transferability of such measures beyond controlled settings, real-life studies are certainly needed [23], but evidence shows that behavioral measures in semi-controlled settings [24] can carry over to free-living settings [25].…”