FORT COLLINS, Colo., April 9 In a study of 51 U.S. college students, those with a higher body mass index tended to consider larger food portion sizes as typical.The study in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that among students allowed to select their own portion sizes, BMI was a very strong predictor of larger-than-recommended amounts of food.Researchers at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and San Diego State University found those participants chose substantially larger portion sizes of 10 out of 15 foods and drinks, which included potato chips, rice, tortilla chips, pudding, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, water and soda."In addition, participants chose significantly larger portion sizes for high-carbohydrate foods when compared to high-fat foods," the authors said in a statement. Additionally, women estimated lower portions of the high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods when compared to men. Because the diet food industry has traditionally targeted women, it is possible that women are better than men at regulating portion sizes of foods that are more likely to increase body weight.Copyright 2007 by UPI
