Comparison between serving sizes of cakes and muffins sold in Australian supermarkets and coffee shop chains. Issue 3 (2nd May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liang, Stephanie; Gemming, Luke; Wellard‐Cole, Lyndal; Rangan, Anna
• Is Part Of: Nutrition & dietetics. Volume 76:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 284
• Page End: 289
• Publication Date: 2019-05-02
• Subjects: Australian dietary guidelines -- discretionary foods -- nutrition labeling -- portion size -- serving size; Nutrition -- Periodicals; Dietetics -- Periodicals; 613.205
• DOI: 10.1111/1747-0080.12544
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1446-6368

Abstract

Abstract : Aim: Cakes and muffins are commonly consumed discretionary foods that have increased significantly in portion size over the past decades. The present study aimed to (i) investigate serving sizes and energy per serving of cakes and muffins sold in supermarkets and coffee chains, (ii) compare to standard discretionary serves and (iii) propose feasible and appropriate serving size recommendations. Methods: Serving sizes and energy content of cakes and muffins were collected from four major Australian supermarkets (n = 219) and eight coffee chains (n = 248) between March and April 2017 and classified into eight categories and compared using Mann–Whitney tests. Median energy per serving of cakes and muffins from supermarkets and coffee chains were compared to the Australian Dietary Guidelines standard serve of 600 kJ for discretionary food. Results: The median serving size of cakes and muffins from supermarkets, 58 g (interquartile range, IQR: 47–83) and their energy content, 915 kJ (IQR: 745–1243) were significantly smaller compared with coffee chain equivalents, 148 g (IQR: 115–171, P < 0.001) and 1805 kJ (IQR: 1436–2004, P < 0.001), respectively. The majority of cakes and muffins exceeded the Australian Dietary Guidelines standard serve (78% from supermarkets and 99% from coffee chains). Conclusions: The larger servings of cakes and muffins sold in coffee chains contain nearly double the energy content of smaller servings sold in supermarkets. We recommend reference serving sizes for industry and food retail are set for this category, in combination with consumer education to guide consumers to select appropriate portion sizes.