ArticlePediatric obesity2020
The influence of front-of-pack portion size images on children's serving and intake of cereal.
Article in Pediatric obesity, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Portion Size Interventions on Energy Intake and Risk of Obesity in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of the relationship between portion size and indexes of adiposity in children.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Serving Size Information and Portion Control Cues on Energy-Dense Nutrient-Poor Packaged Snacks in Australian Supermarkets: Current Practices and Opportunities.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The PEAR Tool: evaluating portion sizes of food and beverages in food advertising to children using Google Street View.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The effect of food packaging elements on children's food choices and intake: A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- Designing for downsizing: Home-based barriers and facilitators to reduce portion sizes for children.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Analysing Credibility of UK Social Media Influencers' Weight-Management Blogs: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The Homeostatic Theory of Obesity: An Empirical Verification of the Circle of Discontent with an Assessment of Its Relationship to Restrained and Uncontrolled Eating among Children and Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The influence of front-of-pack portion size images on children's serving and intake of cereal.Pediatric obesity · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundConsumption of large portions of energy-dense foods promotes weight gain in children. Breakfast cereal boxes often show portions much larger than the recommended serving size.
objectiveThis experimental study investigated whether front-of-package portion size depictions influence children's self-served portions and consumption.
methodsIn a between-subjects design, 41 children aged 7-11 years (M= 9.0 ± 1.5y) served themselves breakfast cereal from a box, the front of which depicted either a recommended serving size of cereal (30g) or a larger, more typical front-of-pack portion (90g). Cereal served and consumed and total caloric intake (including milk) was recorded. Height and weight, demographic information and measures of children's food responsiveness and enjoyment of food were collected.
resultsMANOVA revealed that children exposed to the larger portion size served themselves (+7g, 37%) and consumed (+6g, 63%) significantly more cereal than those exposed to the smaller portion. Despite this, overall caloric intake (milk included) did not differ between conditions, and no other measured variables (hunger, BMI) significantly affected the outcomes.
conclusionThis study provides novel evidence of the influence portion-size depictions on food packaging have on children's eating behaviour. This offers possible avenues for intervention and policy change; however, more research is needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.