# Standardizing Portion Sizes

> **NIH NIH R34** · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $240,000

## Abstract

Abstract
 This application is for a planning grant to develop an RCT to test the impact of standardized portions in
away-from home settings. Given that restaurants all serve different portions and generally serve more food
than most customers can burn, making portions standardized and predictable could help millions of Americans
control how much they eat and reduce their risk for overweight and obesity. We plan to establish what standard
portion sizes should be for different items; develop practical methods by which restaurants could adopt these
standard portions and conduct a pilot test in these 3 restaurants to assess consumer interest as well as to
develop and test recruitment methods and measurement of customer participants. The establishment of
standardized portion sizes will serve as an aspirational benchmark for the food industry to comply with
recommendations from the USDHHS/USDA Dietary Guidelines of Americans and will provide guidance for
consumers. An implementation plan, informed by restaurateurs and consumers, is necessary for a rigorous
RCT, which would need to enroll many restaurants and their customers. In this planning grant our specific aims
are to: 1) Develop a consensus among health and nutrition experts as to what the standardized portion
amounts should be and how they should be measured (e.g. weights, volumes, and relevance of calories). 2)
Pilot test and refine a training in three restaurants to examine the feasibility of adopting the standardized
portions and adherence to the recommended standards. 3) Pilot recruitment and measurement methods for
customers, including assessing response rates, perceptions of standardized portions, and 24-hour dietary
recall methods. Once these aims have been accomplished, we will have obtained the information necessary
for powering and conducting a rigorous RCT that would ultimately determine the impact of standardized
portions sizes on diet, and specifically on how standard portions will influence the consumption of nutrients of
consequence to cardiovascular health, especially reducing exposure to refined grains, starches, sugars,
processed meats, high sodium foods, and increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, vegetable oils,
nuts, low-fat dairy, and whole grains.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10084316
- **Project number:** 5R34HL149135-03
- **Recipient organization:** KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Deborah A Cohen
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $240,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-11 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10084316

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10084316, Standardizing Portion Sizes (5R34HL149135-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10084316. Licensed CC0.

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