Summary: It is commonly assumed that a person identifying that they are ‘overweight’ is an important prerequisite to successful weight management. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of evidence supporting this proposition. The aim of the present research was to systematically review evidence on the relationship between perceived overweight and (i) weight loss attempts, (ii) weight control strategies (healthy and unhealthy), (iii) weight‐related behaviours (physical activity and eating habits), (iv) disordered eating and (v) weight change. We synthesized evidence from 78 eligible studies and evaluated evidence linking perceived overweight with outcome variables separately according to the gender, age and objective weight status of study participants. Results indicated that perceived overweight was associated with an increased likelihood of attempting weight loss and with healthy and unhealthy weight control strategies in some participant groups. However, perceived overweight was not reliably associated with physical activity or healthy eating and was associated with greater disordered eating in some groups. Rather than being associated with improved weight management, there was consistent evidence that perceived overweight was predictive of increased weight gain over time. Individuals who perceive their weight status as overweight are more likely to report attempting weight loss but over time gain more weight.

Because overconsumption of food contributes to ill health, understanding what affects how much people eat is of importance. The 'bogus' taste test is a measure widely used in eating behaviour research to identify factors that may have a causal effect on food intake. However, there has been no examination of the validity of the bogus taste test as a measure of food intake. We conducted a participant level analysis of 31 published laboratory studies that used the taste test to measure food intake. We assessed whether the taste test was sensitive to experimental manipulations hypothesized to increase or decrease food intake. We examined construct validity by testing whether participant sex, hunger and liking of taste test food were associated with the amount of food consumed in the taste test. In addition, we also examined whether BMI (body mass index), trait measures of dietary restraint and over-eating in response to palatable food cues were associated with food consumption. Results indicated that the taste test was sensitive to experimental manipulations hypothesized to increase or decrease food intake. Factors that were reliably associated with increased consumption during the taste test were being male, have a higher baseline hunger, liking of the taste test food and a greater tendency to overeat in response to palatable food cues, whereas trait dietary restraint and BMI were not. These results indicate that the bogus taste test is likely to be a valid measure of food intake and can be used to identify factors that have a causal effect on food intake.

Objectives To examine the energy content of main meals served in major UK restaurant chains and compare the energy content of meals in fast food and “full service” restaurant chains. Design Observational study. Setting Menu and nutritional information provided by major UK restaurant chains. Main outcome measures Mean energy content of meals, proportion of meals meeting public health recommendations for energy consumption (≤600 kcal), and proportion of meals with excessive energy content (≥1000 kcal). Results Main meals from 27 restaurant chains (21 full service; 6 fast food) were sampled. The mean energy content of all eligible restaurant meals (13 396 in total) was 977 (95% confidence interval 973 to 983) kcal. The percentage of all meals that met public health recommendations for energy content was low (9%; n=1226) and smaller than the percentage of meals with an excessive energy content (47%; 6251). Compared with fast food restaurants, full service restaurants offered significantly more excessively calorific main meals, fewer main meals meeting public health recommendations, and on average 268 (103 to 433) kcal more in main meals. Conclusions The energy content of a large number of main meals in major UK restaurant chains is excessive, and only a minority meet public health recommendations. Although the poor nutritional quality of fast food meals has been well documented, the energy content of full service restaurant meals in the UK tends to be higher and is a cause for concern. Registration Study protocol and analysis strategy pre-registered on Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/w5h8q/).

Objective: Perceiving one's own weight status as being overweight is a likely motivation for weight loss. However, self‐perceived overweight status has also been found to be associated with overeating and weight gain. This study examined whether weight stigma concerns explain why individuals who perceive their weight status as overweight are at increased risk of overeating.Methods: We conducted two survey studies of United States adults (N = 1,236) in which we assessed whether weight stigma concerns explain the cross‐sectional relationship between perceived overweight and overeating tendencies.Results: Across two studies, the cross‐sectional relationship between perceived overweight and overeating tendencies was in part explained by weight stigma concerns. Participants who perceived their weight as “overweight” reported greater weight stigma concerns than participants who perceived their weight as “about right,” and this explained 23.3% (Study 1) to 58.6% (Study 2) of the variance in the relationship between perceived overweight and overeating tendencies.Conclusions: Weight stigma concerns may explain why perceiving one's own weight status as overweight is associated with an increased tendency to overeat.

• Smaller portion sizes are associated with lower energy intake. • We test a norm range model of the portion size effect on intended intake. • A wide range of portion sizes were perceived as normal. • Portions perceived as normal did not prompt intended compensatory eating. • Portions perceived as smaller than normal prompted intended compensation.