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Comparison of Reported Serving Sizes of Packaged Foods in Costa Rica with National Guidelines

Introduction: Overweight and obesity is growing drastically worldwide, with increasing portion sizes of processed food identified as one of the contributing factors. To date there has been no research looking at the reported serving sizes of Costa Rican processed foods. The aim of this study was to compare the reported serving sizes on nutritional labels of packaged food products available in Costa Rica with the recommendations established in the Central American Regulation. Materials and methods: Information on reported serving sizes (g) was obtained from the nutrition label of “processed food” packages using established methodology. Fifteen food categories were included. Means (g) and medians (g) were calculated. Homogeneity of variances (Levine’s test p<0.05) and Welch ANOVA test were used for comparison of means and Brown-Forsythe’s test for medians of unequal variances. Comparisons between groups were made by the coefficient of variation value. A p value of <0.05 was deemed statistically significant. Results: Data were collected for 2600 products, of which 17% didn’t provide nutritional information. A huge variability (p<0.05) in reported serving sizes was seen in most food categories. Also, in 11 out of 15 categories, products reported smaller serving sizes than the national recommendation. Conclusions: The variability in reported serving sizes in processed food may lead to consumer confusion in understanding nutritional labeling. Furthermore, serving size recommendations in Costa Rica should be reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis. These results serve as a baseline for government to establish the recommendations for nutritional labeling more appropriate to the reality of the shopping environment and less confusing to consumers.