Effects of a Web-based food portion training program on food portion estimation
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Published on: March 19, 2021
William T Riley1, Jeannette Beasley, Allison Sowell
1PICS Inc. Reston, Virginia, USA. wriley@mail.nih.gov
Objective:
Assess the effects of a prototype computerized food portion tutorial (CFPT).
Design:
Participants were randomly assigned to estimate portion sizes for selected food items either prior to or following CFPT training (between groups), and those estimating before CFPT training re-estimated portions after training (within groups).
Setting:
Research offices.
Participants:
Seventy-six adult participants without dietary restrictions.
Intervention:
The CFPT is a Web-based food portion training program that displays varied portions of 23 food items with user-controllable reference objects and viewing angles.
Main Outcome Measures:
Estimated vs. weighed portions of food items selected for a meal.
Analysis:
Nonparametric tests were performed on estimated vs. weighed portion differences and on accuracy ratios between and within groups.
Results:
A significant difference was found between conditions, both within and between groups, on the discrepancy between estimated and weighed portions for a number of the food items. Training exposure, however, resulted primarily in a shift from underestimation to overestimation, not more accurate estimation.
Implications For Research And Practice:
The CFPT produced a significant impact on food portion estimation but appeared to sensitize participants to underestimation errors, leading to overestimation errors. Computerization of food portion training programs holds promise for providing cost-efficient portion estimation training but requires further development and evaluation before being considered for clinical use.
