Impact on beer sales of removing the pint serving size: An A-B-A reversal trial in pubs, bars, and restaurants in England.

BACKGROUND: Smaller serving sizes could contribute towards reducing alcohol consumption across populations and thereby decrease the risk of 7 cancers and other diseases. To our knowledge, the current study is the first to assess the impact on beer, lager, and cider sales (hereafter, for ease, referred to just as "beer sales") of removing the largest draught serving size (1 imperial pint) from the options available in licensed premises under real-word conditions. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The study was conducted between February and May 2023, in 13 licensed premises in England. It used an A-B-A reversal design, set over 3 consecutive 4-weekly periods with "A" representing the nonintervention periods during which standard serving sizes were served, and "B" representing the intervention period when the largest serving size of draught beer (1 imperial pint (568 ml)) was removed from existing ranges so that the largest size available was two-thirds of a pint. Where two-third pints were not served, the intervention included introducing this serving size in conjunction with removing the pint serving size. The primary outcome was the mean daily volume of all beer sold, including draught, bottles, and cans (in ml), extracted from electronic sales data. Secondary outcomes were mean daily volume of wine sold (ml) and daily revenue (£). Thirteen premises completed the study, 12 of which did so per protocol and were included in the primary analysis. After adjusting for prespecified covariates, the intervention resulted in a mean daily change of -2,769 ml (95% CI [-4,188, -1,578] p < 0.001) or -9.7% (95% CI [-13.5%, -6.1%] in beer sold. The daily volume of wine sold increased during the intervention period by 232 ml (95% CI [13, 487], p = 0.035) or 7.2% (95% CI [0.4%, 14.5%]). Daily revenues decreased by 5.0% (95% CI [9.6%, -0.3%], p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Removing the largest serving size (the imperial pint) for draught beer reduced the volume of beer sold. Given the potential of this intervention to reduce alcohol consumption, it merits consideration in alcohol control policies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN.com ISRCTN18365249.

BMI and explicit-implicit cues on food choice: The fake food buffet in the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

We examined whether people with high BMI sampled from two different countries were more susceptible to behavioural change via an implicit, rather than explicit, intervention. We measured BMI and used three types of cue interventions (implicit vs explicit healthy lifestyle cue vs neutral cue) to examine their impact on our participants' food choice using the Fake Food Buffet. Healthiness of the meal chosen was measured by the percentage of healthy food items in the meal. Portion size of their chosen meal was operationalised by the total number of food items chosen and its total calorie content was also estimated. Participants were recruited from the United Kingdom (N = 264) and Indonesia (N = 264). Our results indicated that while explicit food cues were overall more effective, implicit cues were a more effective strategy to change food choice behaviours among individuals with high BMI. Participants with high BMI were more likely to regulate the healthiness of their meal and less likely to regulate its portion size or calorie content. The efficacy of our healthy eating interventions was cross-culturally generalizable. Our study supports previous research that implicit cues of a healthy lifestyle might be a more effective behavioural change strategy for individuals with high BMI.

The impact of packaging attributes on portion decisions: Consumer values are important.

Research shows that features of food packaging can help to promote healthy food choices. Laboratory-based studies demonstrate that smart design of packaging facilitates portion control. However, the extent to which consumers notice packaging features for portion control is not known. Therefore, this study investigated how individuals interact with food packaging, how they utilise the on-pack serving-size guidelines and how they make portion decisions. To do this, 25 adult participants were recruited to participate in an online semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using thematic analysis until saturation was achieved. Participants reported that they rarely attend to on-pack serving recommendations and indicated some resistance to them. Some structural features (small/single serving, pre-portioned and resealable packaging) were identified as facilitators of portion control. In contrast, the healthiness evaluation of the product from packaging cues was described as a permissive cue to eat more of the product. Participants in this study value their autonomy and control, preferring convenient behavioural choices over recommended portion servings. They also reported future concerns about the effects of their diet on health, but that current context (hunger, convenience) sometimes presented a barrier to healthy eating. Packaging does more than protect its contents, packaging can affect eating decisions to support portion control, and for some, offers permission to overconsume. This study identified ways that participants use packaging to make portion decisions, revealing the role of habits, current context and future health considerations. The interviews revealed the importance of consumer values on food choice in general and portion control in particular. In conclusion, smart food packaging design could use these findings to nudge healthy portion decisions by incorporating consumer values and by recognising consumer needs for habitual, current and future concerns.

Longitudinal associations between psychosomatic and emotional status and selected food portion sizes in European children and adolescents: IDEFICS/I.Family study.

This study aims to investigate the influence of psychosomatic and emotional status on food portion sizes (PSs) consumption from high energy-dense food groups in European children and adolescents. We hypothesized that psychosomatic and emotional status would have a significant association with the PS selection of energy-dense food. The study included 7355 children aged between 2 and 9.9 years at baseline (T0) (48.8% females); 3869 after 2 years (T1) (48.2% females), and 2971 (51.8% females) after 6 years of follow-up (T3). Psychosomatic and emotional status were measured using emotional well-being during the last week score (KINDL) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. PS was calculated from daily food intake recorded in 24-hour dietary recalls. The associations between emotional status indicators and PS from selected energy-dense food groups were assessed by multilevel linear regression models. In the cross-sectional analysis, we observed that higher KINDL scores were linked to lower PS consumption from sweet bakery products and savory snacks in both genders. Moreover, we found that adolescent females with high emotional and peer problem scores tended to consume larger PS of carbohydrate-rich and sugar-fatty food items (P < .017). Longitudinally, higher peer problem scores were associated with increased PS from bread and rolls, margarine and lipids, and dairy products in all genders and age groups (P< .017). In adolescents, psychosomatic and emotional status could be a trigger for consuming large PS from carbohydrate-rich and sugar-fatty energy-dense foods. Thus, nutritional interventions should consider emotional status to decrease unhealthy dietary habits in children and adolescents.

Design and Validation of MEDOC, a Tool to Assess the Combined Adherence to Mediterranean and Western Dietary Patterns.

The Mediterranean diet (MD) and Western diet (WD) are poles apart as dietary patterns. Despite the availability of epidemiological tools to estimate the adherence to MD, to date, there is a lack of combined scores. We developed MEDOC, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed to calculate a combined adherence score for both diets and validated it on 213 subjects. The test-retest reliability revealed all frequency questions falling within the acceptable range of 0.5 to 0.7 (Pearson correlation coefficient) in younger (<30 years old) subjects, while 1 question out of 39 fell below the range in older (>30 years old) participants. The reproducibility for portion size was less satisfying, with, respectively, 38.2% and 70.5% of questions falling below 0.5 (Cohen's Kappa index) for younger and older subjects. The good correlation (R = 0.63, p < 0.0001 for subjects younger than 30 years and R = 0.54, p < 0.0001 for subjects older than 30 years, Pearson's correlation coefficient) between the MEDOC score and the MediDietScore (MDS) confirmed the validity of the MEDOC score in identifying patients who adhere to the MD. Harnessing the capabilities of this innovative tool, we aim to broaden the existing perspective to study complex dietary patterns in nutritional epidemiology studies.

Evidence of a self-serving bias in people's attributions for their food intake.

People often fail to acknowledge external influences on their food intake, but there might be some circumstances in which people are willing to report that those external factors influenced their behavior. This study examined whether participants who believed that they had overeaten would indicate that the portion size they were served influenced their food intake. Participants (119 women) ate a pasta lunch at two separate sessions, one week apart. At the second session, participants were randomly assigned to receive either a regular portion of pasta (the same portion as the first session) or a large portion of pasta (a portion that was twice the size), and to receive false feedback about their food intake indicating that they had either eaten about the same as or substantially more than they had at the previous session. Participants were then asked to indicate the extent to which the amount of food served influenced how much they ate at that second session. Compared to participants who were informed that they had eaten the same amount across the two sessions, those who were informed that they ate more at the second session reported a stronger influence of the amount of food served if they also received a large portion of pasta, but not if they received a regular portion of pasta. These findings suggest that the willingness to implicate external influences (e.g., portion size) on one's food intake may be driven by a self-serving bias, providing an "excuse" for overeating. However, the external cue must be salient enough to be a plausible explanation for one's behavior.

Independent effects of volume and energy density manipulation on energy intake and appetite in healthy adults: A randomized, controlled, crossover study.

Consuming enough energy to meet high energy demands can be challenging for military personnel wherein logistical constraints limit food availability. Increasing dietary energy density (ED) and/or volume density (VD) of rations may be countermeasures, but whether positive linear associations between ED and energy intake (EI) hold at moderate-to-high ED and VD is unclear. This study examined the effects of covertly increasing the ED and VD of moderate ED (≥1.6 kcal/g) foods on appetite and energy intake. Twenty healthy men completed four 2-day treatments in random order by consuming a standardized diet containing three experimental food items (EXP) engineered using leavening, physical compression and fat manipulation to be isovolumetric but lower (L) or higher (H) in ED and VD creating four treatments: LED/LVD, LED/HVD, HED/LVD, HED/HVD. Consumption of EXP was compulsory during two meals and a snack, but remaining intake was self-selected (SSF). Results failed to show any ED-by-VD interactions. During LVD, EI was lower for EXP (-417 kcal [95%CI: 432, -402], p < 0.01) and TOTAL (SSF + EXP) (-276 kcal [95%CI: 470, -83], p = 0.01) compared to HVD, while SSF EI did not differ (140 kcal [-51, 332], p = 0.15). During LED, EI for EXP (-291 kcal [95%CI: 306, -276], p < 0.01) was lower than HED, while SSF EI was higher than HED (203 kcal 95%CI: [12, 394], p = 0.04) and TOTAL EI did not differ (-88 kcal [-282, 105], p = 0.36). Thus, when a small isovolumetric portion of the diet was manipulated, increasing the VD of moderate ED foods failed to elicit compensatory reductions in ad libitum EI while increasing the ED of moderate ED foods did. Findings may support VD manipulation of moderate ED foods as a strategy to promote increased short-term EI in environments wherein logistical burden may limit food volume.

Passive overconsumption? Limited evidence of compensation in meal size when consuming foods high in energy density: Two randomised crossover experiments.

Research has drawn contradictory conclusions as to whether humans adjust meal size based on meal energy density (ED) or exhibit 'passive overconsumption'. Recent observational research has suggested that meal EDs greater than 1.7-2 kcal/g are compensated for through consumption of smaller meal sizes. We tested the relationship between ED and meal size by examining energy intake of meals at three levels of ED: low (∼1.0 kcal/g), medium (1.7-2.0 kcal/g) and high (>3.0 kcal/g). Two randomised, crossover experiments were conducted with adult participants. In experiment 1 (n = 34, 62% female, mean age 37.4 years), participants were served a lunch including a familiar low, medium or high ED dessert to eat ad libitum. In experiment 2 (n = 32, 66% female, mean age 36.4 years), participants were served a lunch meal manipulated to be low, medium or high ED to eat ad libitum. For experiment 2, later energy intake (post-meal energy intake) was also measured. In experiment 1, participants consumed a similar amount of energy from the low vs. medium ED food. The high ED food was associated with an increased intake of approximately 240 kcals compared to medium (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.31) and low (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 4.42) ED foods. In experiment 2, there were no significant differences in meal size (grams) between ED meals, resulting in a largely linear relationship between meal ED and energy intake across the three ED conditions ('passive overconsumption'). There were no differences in later energy intake between ED conditions. Contrary to recent suggestions, foods higher in ED were not associated with adjustments to meal size and were associated with increased energy intake across two experiments. Reformulation of foods high in ED may be an effective population level approach to reducing energy intake and obesity. Clinical trial registry number: NCT05744050; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05744050.

Validity of the PortionSize application compared with that of MyFitnessPal for accurately estimating intake: a randomized crossover laboratory-based evaluation.

BACKGROUND: PortionSize offers real-time feedback on dietary intake, including intake of MyPlate food groups but requires further evaluation on a larger sample in a laboratory-based setting. MyFitnessPal (MFP) is a commonly used commercial dietary assessment application, and to our knowledge, no known studies have evaluated MFP in a laboratory setting. OBJECTIVES: The overall objective was to test the validity of PortionSize and MFP to accurately measure intake compared with that of weighed food (WB) and to compare error between applications. A secondary objective was to test usability, satisfaction, and user preference between applications. METHODS: This randomized crossover study was completed between February and October 2021. Participants (N = 43) used both applications to estimate intake in a laboratory setting. Participants were provided with a preweighed plated meal and plated leftovers. Two 1-sided t tests assessed equivalence (±21% bounds) between simulated intake from PortionSize and WB, and MFP and WB. The primary outcome was energy intake, and secondary outcome measures were portion size (in grams), food groups, and other nutrients. Differences in relative absolute error, usability, satisfaction, and user preference between applications were evaluated using dependent samples t tests. Cohen d assessed effect size. RESULTS: For PortionSize, energy and portion size were underestimated by 13.3% and 14.0%, respectively, and were not equivalent to WB. For MFP, energy was overestimated by 7.0%, and equivalent to WB (P = 0.04). Relative absolute error for energy did not differ between applications. For PortionSize, Cohen d was small (<0.2) for fruits, grains, protein foods, and specific nutrients. No differences were seen with usability, and the only difference for satisfaction was that participants found it easier to use MFP to find foods consumed (P = 0.019), and participants preferred using MFP (P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: PortionSize requires further updates to improve energy estimates and usability but demonstrates clinical utility for tracking food group and nutrient intake. PortionSize did not outperform MFP for measuring energy intake. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04700904 (https://classic. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT04700904).

Breadth of substance use is associated with the selection of a larger food portion size via elevated impulsivity.

Substance use is associated with altered or elevated food consumption and disordered eating. In the present study we examined whether breadth (variety) of drug use was associated with elevated portion size in a general population sample as it was in persons in recovery from substance use disorder. Furthermore, measures of emotional eating, impulsivity, food misuse, food craving were taken as possible mediators and reward responsiveness was examined as a potential moderator of this association. 444 adults (48.6 % women, mean age of 47.8 years) completed an online study in which they were asked to make judgements of ideal portion size for 6 different foods using a validated online tool that allowed participants to adjust the portion size of images of foods. Ideal portion size has been identified as a strong predictor of actual consumption. Participants were also asked to report the number of substances used in the past and provide anthropometric information. The results confirmed that breadth of drug use was associated with selection of higher portion size. Reward responsiveness was not a moderator of this relationship. Of the tested mediators, only impulsivity mediated the association between breadth of drug use and portion size. The results show that impulsivity may underlie the association between eating and substance use.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Standardizing Portions in Restaurants.

Most restaurants serve customers excess calories which significantly contributes to the obesity epidemic. This pilot study tested the feasibility and acceptability of offering customers standardized portions to reduce caloric consumption when dining out in three restaurants. Portions were developed to limit quantity of food served, with lunches and dinners ≤ 700 cal and breakfast ≤ 500 cal. Participating restaurants developed an alternative "Balanced Portions Menu." Training and instructions were provided with respect to the volume and weight of food to be plated following the standardized guidelines and providing at least one cup of vegetables per lunch/dinner. We invited local residents to help us evaluate the new menu. We monitored restaurant adherence to guidelines, obtained feedback from customers, and incentivized customers to complete dietary recalls to determine how the new menus might have impacted their daily caloric consumption. Of the three participating restaurants, all had a positive experience after creating the new menus and received more foot traffic. One restaurant that did not want to change portion sizes simply plated the appropriate amount and packed up the rest to-go, marketing the meals as "Dinner today, lunch tomorrow." Two of the restaurants followed the guidelines precisely, while one sometimes plated more rice than the three-fourths cup that was recommended. A significant number of customers ordered from the Balanced Portions menus. Two of the three restaurants have decided to keep offering the Balanced Portions menus indefinitely. Following standardized portions guidelines is both feasible for restaurants and acceptable to customers.

Validity and Reproducibility of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Dietary Assessment in Japanese People.

A 76-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to investigate nutritional epidemiology in urban residents in Japan. The authors prepared two food models-a life-size three-dimensional model and a life-size two-dimensional photograph-to assess the FFQ portion size. The validity of the FFQ was verified using the two food models by comparing them with 16-d weighted dietary records (WDRs). Validation was conducted by comparing the FFQ1 findings with those obtained with the WDR, which is regarded as the gold standard, and reproducibility was verified by comparing the findings from FFQ2 and FFQ1. After completion of the WDR, the participants were randomized into two groups. In one group, the FFQ was conducted using life-size three-dimensional models (3D-FFQ) to estimate the portion size. In the other group, the FFQ was administered using life-size photo collection (2D-FFQ). Regarding validity, the median values (range) of Pearson's correlation coefficients for the energy and nutrient intake of the 32 items by the WDR and FFQ1 were r=0.53 (0.30-0.68) in the 3D-FFQ and r=0.57 (0.33-0.87) in the 2D-FFQ. When FFQs with 2D or 3D food models and two different portion sizes were compared with regard to the intake of certain food groups, energy, and nutrients, both the 2D-FFQ and 3D-FFQ provided good correlation coefficients with the WDR.

The Cerebellar Response to Visual Portion Size Cues Is Associated with the Portion Size Effect in Children.

The neural mechanisms underlying susceptibility to eating more in response to large portions (i.e., the portion size effect) remain unclear. Thus, the present study examined how neural responses to portion size relate to changes in weight and energy consumed as portions increase. Associations were examined across brain regions traditionally implicated in appetite control (i.e., an appetitive network) as well as the cerebellum, which has recently been implicated in appetite-related processes. Children without obesity (i.e., BMI-for-age-and-sex percentile < 90; N = 63; 55% female) viewed images of larger and smaller portions of food during fMRI and, in separate sessions, ate four meals that varied in portion size. Individual-level linear and quadratic associations between intake (kcal, grams) and portion size (i.e., portion size slopes) were estimated. The response to portion size in cerebellar lobules IV-VI was associated with the quadratic portion size slope estimated from gram intake; a greater response to images depicting smaller compared to larger portions was associated with steeper increases in intake with increasing portion sizes. Within the appetitive network, neural responses were not associated with portion size slopes. A decreased cerebellar response to larger amounts of food may increase children's susceptibility to overeating when excessively large portions are served.

Exploring within-meal variety to promote appeal of home-cooked meals in older adults.

Undernutrition is highly prevalent in older adults and poses a major threat to physical and mental wellbeing. To foster healthy eating (and healthy aging), strategies are needed to improve dietary quality of older adults. In this study, the feasibility of increasing food variety in home-cooked meals is explored as strategy to promote meat and vegetable consumption in community dwelling older adults. Adults aged 50 years or older (N = 253) evaluated pictures of traditional Dutch dinner meals with more or less variety in the vegetable or meat component in an online questionnaire. Specifically, four different variety 'levels' were presented: (1) no variety, (2) meat variety, (3) vegetable variety, and (4) variety in both meat and vegetables (mixed). Participants indicated for each meal picture how much they would like the meal, whether it represented an ideal portion size, and whether they would be able and willing to prepare the meal. We expected that with increasing variety, liking and ideal portion size would increase, while ability and willingness to prepare the meals would decrease. Results showed that the meals with meat variety and mixed variety were liked less than meals with vegetable variety or no variety. Participants were all highly willing to prepare the meals, but they were less willing to prepare the meals with meat variety and mixed variety compared to the meals with vegetable variety and no variety. All meals were evaluated as being too large, but the meals with vegetable variety and mixed variety were evaluated as more oversized than the meals without variety and with meat variety. These results suggest that encouraging older adults to include variety in home-cooked meals might be more challenging than anticipated.

Child eating behaviors are consistently linked to intake across meals that vary in portion size.

Prior studies evaluating a single meal in children characterized an "obesogenic" style of eating marked by larger bites and faster eating. It is unclear if this style is consistent across portion sizes within children so we examined eating behaviors in 91 children (7-8 years, 45 F) without obesity (BMI<90th percentile). Children consumed 4 ad libitum meals in the laboratory consisting of chicken nuggets, macaroni, grapes, and broccoli that varied in portion size (100%, 133%, 166%, 200%) with a maximum of 30 min allotted per meal. Anthropometrics were assessed using age and sex adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentile and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Bites, sips, active eating time, and meal duration were coded from meal videos; bite size (kcal and g/bite), proportion of active eating (active eating time/meal duration), and eating rate (kcal and g/meal duration) were computed. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) showed that most eating behaviors were moderately consistent across portions (>0.50). The consistency of associations between eating behaviors and total meal intake and adiposity were assessed with general linear models adjusted for food liking, pre-meal fullness, age, and sex. Across all portions, more bites, faster eating rate, and longer meal duration were associated with greater intake. While higher BMI percentile was associated with faster eating rates across all meals, greater fat mass index was only associated with faster eating at meals with portions typical for children (i.e., 100% and 133%). In a primarily healthy weight sample, an 'obesogenic' style of eating was a consistent predictor of greater intake across meals that varied in portion size. The consistent relationship of these behaviors with intake makes them promising targets to reduce overconsumption.

The effect of discretionary snack consumption on overall energy intake, weight status, and diet quality: A systematic review.

The consumption frequency and portion size of discretionary snacks are thought to contribute to a greater food intake and risk of overweight or obesity in the developed world but evidence from epidemiological studies is inconclusive. To investigate this, we systematically evaluated evidence on the effects of discretionary snack consumption on weight status, energy intake, and diet quality. Articles involving discretionary snacks reported against the outcome measures of any primary, peer-reviewed study using human participants from free-living conditions for all age groups were included. A total of 14,780 titles were identified and 40 eligible publications were identified. Three key outcomes were reported: weight status (n = 35), energy intake (n = 11), and diet quality (n = 3). Increased discretionary snack consumption may contribute modestly to energy intake, however, there is a lack of consistent associations with increased weight/BMI. Although cross-sectional analyses offered conflicting findings, longitudinal studies in adults showed a consistent positive relationship between discretionary snack intake and increasing weight or body mass index. Given that experimental findings suggest reducing the size of discretionary snacks could lead to decreased consumption and subsequent energy intake, food policy makers and manufacturers may find it valuable to consider altering the portion and/or packaging size of discretionary snacks.

Empirically derived portion sizes from the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study for 4- to 18-year-old children and adolescents to simplify analysis of dietary data using FFQ.

OBJECTIVE: To apply FFQ, knowledge about portion sizes is relevant. According to increased energy and nutrient requirements, average portion sizes of foods are supposed to increase during growth. We provide empirically derived portion sizes for 4- to 18-year-olds in different age groups to facilitate analyses of FFQ data in children and adolescents. DESIGN: Using data from the dynamic DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed cohort study, quantile regression for smoothing percentiles was used to derive portion sizes as a function of age from which age- and food group-specific portion sizes were calculated as median food group intake (g). SETTING: Dortmund, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Data from 3-day weighed dietary records (WDR) of 1,325 participants (♀: 653) were analysed. Participants provided in total 9,828 WDR (on average 7·5 per participant) between 1985 and 2022. WDR were grouped into five age groups, whereby each age group covered 3 years of age. RESULTS: In total, 11 955 food items were reported and categorised into sixteen major food groups with seventy-one sub-groups. Portion sizes tended to increase with age, except for milk- and plant-based alternatives. Comparing 4- to 6-year-olds to 16- to 18-year-olds, portion size increased between 22·2 % (processed meat: 18 g v. 22 g) and 173·3 % (savoury snacks: 15 g v. 41 g). CONCLUSION: We provide empirically derived portion sizes for children and adolescents. These data are useful to establish dietary assessment methods based on estimates of portion sizes, such as FFQ, for children and adolescents.

Portion size matters: Carrion ecology lessons for medicolegal death investigations-A study in Cape Town, South Africa.

Forensic taphonomic studies are regionally specific and improve time since death estimates for medico-legal casework. Within forensic taphonomy and carrion ecology, vertebrate scavengers are under-researched with many studies conducted using multiple, unclothed carcasses. This is a forensically unrealistic experimental design choice with unknown impact. The effect of variation in carrion biomass on the decomposition ecosystem, particularly where vertebrate scavengers are concerned, requires clarification. To assess the effect of carrion biomass load on vertebrate scavenging and decomposition rate, seasonal baseline data for single, clothed ~60 kg porcine carcasses were compared to clothed multiple-carcass deployments, in a forensically relevant habitat of Cape Town, South Africa. Decomposition was tracked via weight loss and bloat progression and scavenging activity via motion-activated cameras. The single carcasses decayed more quickly, particularly during the cooler, wetter winter, strongly correlated with concentrated Cape gray mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) scavenging activity. On average and across seasons, the single carcasses lost 68% of their mass by day 32 (567 accumulated degree days [ADD]), compared to 80 days (1477 ADD) for multi-carcass deployments. The single carcasses experienced substantially more scavenging activity, with longer visits by single and multiple mongooses, totaling 53 h on average compared to 20 h for the multi-carcass deployments. These differences in scavenging activity and decay rate demonstrate the impact of carrion biomass load on decomposition for forensic taphonomy research. These findings need corroboration. However, forensic realism requires consideration in taphonomic study design. Longitudinally examining many single carcasses may produce more forensically accurate, locally appropriate, and usable results.

Gender differences in perceiving the portion size of meat when being observed.

Previous research has shown that being observed can influence people's behaviors, including their eating habits. In this study, we predicted that men and women would exhibit different reactions to the perception of portion size of meat when being observed. By utilizing a camera to create a sense of being observed during the act of eating meat, we revealed that men in the observed condition reported perceiving the portion size of the meat they ate to be smaller and the eating amount to be less than was reported by those in the non-observed condition. However, women did not show any differences in their perceptions of the portion size of the meat they ate. These findings demonstrate that gender identity plays a role in how people perceive the meat they eat when they are aware of being observed. The discussion highlights the effect of being observed on meat consumption and illustrates the influence of masculine identity.

Does social-norm messaging influence expected satiety and ideal portion-size selection?

A person's perception of how long a food will stave off hunger (expected satiety) and the ideal amount to consume (ideal portion size) are both influenced by food-to-mealtime norms. Here, we examine whether social norms can modulate this effect, in three experimental studies. In study 1 (n = 235) participants were exposed to a social norm suggesting most people enjoyed consuming pasta for breakfast. There was a main effect of food-to-mealtime congruence for expected satiety and ideal portion size (p < 0.001) - participants selected a smaller portion of pasta for breakfast (vs. lunch) - but there were no other main effects/interactions (p ≥ 0.15). Study 2 (n = 200) followed the same approach as study 1, but sought to examine whether the typical volume of food consumed at breakfast and lunch needed to be controlled. Again, there was a main effect of congruence (the same pattern) (p ≤ 0.02) but no other main effects/interactions (p ≥ 0.73). Study 3 (n = 208) followed the same approach as study 2, but the social-norm message was changed to suggest that most people who eat pasta for breakfast found it effectively reduced their hunger. Again, there was a main effect of congruence (the same pattern) (p < 0.001) but no other main effects/interaction (p ≥ 0.26). These studies provide further evidence for the food-to-mealtime effect, but do not provide any evidence that a single, simple social-norm statement can modulate expected satiety or ideal portion size, or interact with the food-to-mealtime effect.