Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. E-mail: bjr4 psu. Background: An increase in the proportion of vegetables at meals could help achieve recommended vegetable intakes and facilitate weight management. Objective: We investigated the effects on food and energy intakes of varying the portion size and energy density of a vegetable that was added to a meal or substituted for other foods.
Design: In 2 experiments with crossover designs, men and women were served a meal of a vegetable, grain, and meat. Across the meals, the vegetable was served in 3 portion sizes , , or g and 2 energy densities 0.
Conclusions: Serving more vegetables, either by adding more or substituting them for other foods, is an effective strategy to increase vegetable intake at a meal.
However, to moderate meal energy intake, vegetables should be low in energy density; furthermore, the substitution of vegetables for more energy-dense foods is more effective than simply adding extra vegetables. Most people eat less than recommended amounts of vegetables 1 , 2 despite the known health benefits 3 and the possibility that increased consumption could help moderate energy intake and facilitate weight management 4 — 6. Several health organizations proposed serving more vegetables at meals to encourage consumption.
Specifically, it was suggested that foods served on a plate should be reportioned to include a greater proportion of vegetables and a smaller proportion of animal proteins and grains 7 — This approach has the potential to increase the intake of vegetables and decrease meal energy density and, thus, energy intake 11 — 13 because vegetables are often the part of the meal with the lowest energy density.
