Researchers from the UK showed that a decrease in the size of the portions and the replacement of high-calorie foods with less calorie options leads to a decrease in caloric content of food workers consumed. The article of scientists has been published in PLOS Medicine magazine.
Workplace is the most common place to eat outside the house. Eat there is about 15 percent of the calorie consumed by an adult man per day. In his experiment, researchers led by scientists from the University of Cambridge for 25 weeks – from May to November 2019 – changed the diet in the 19 table distribution centers of a large British supermarket chain, which were attended by more than 20 thousand workers, mainly engaged in physical labor.
To begin with high-calorie food – for example, both bacon and cheeseburgers – replaced less calorie (in this case with chicken burgers). On average, it reduced the daily calimament of food purchased by 4.8 percent. After that, the researchers in addition reduced the portions of the highest-calorie products – on average by 14 percent. This led to a decrease in the medium-sized cone by 11.5 percent compared to the initial consumption, which for the usual employee is about 50 kilocalories per day.
At the same time, the cafeteria experienced only a small drop in profits – by 2.6 percent while reducing the choice of high-calorie food and 5.7 percent with a reduction in portions. Over time, the fall has declined. According to the researchers, this suggests that this is a temporary and compensable effect. Scientists believe that the introduction of such measures by employers, as well as in schools and universities, will help reduce the level of obesity of the population.