Portion inflation
Hundreds of studies have been done and many millions of dollars spent to answer a seemingly simple question: Why are people getting fatter?
The inquiry is a serious one. Excess weight, especially when the extra pounds add up to obesity, is a major health threat. Being overweight dramatically increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, two leading causes of death and disability. Excess weight is also linked to sleep problems, joint deterioration, and even some forms of cancer.
Small wonder health experts worry: Surveys around the world show that people are getting fatter year after year. Why? The answer, many experts say, is simply that we eat too much—and over-the-top portion sizes are largely to blame.
Since the 1970s, the standard size of many packaged foods has grown almost beyond recognition. Chips that once came in 6-ounce bags are now sold in giant 24-ounce packages. Soft drinks first marketed in small bottles have morphed into 16- and even 32-ounce jug-sized containers.
Fast food restaurant offerings have also surged in size. Between 1977 and 1998, the average hamburger added 97 calories, a recent study showed. A standard serving of fries put on an extra 68 calories. Salty snacks were up 93 calories. Soft drinks jumped 49 calories.
Portion creep even shows up in home-cooked meals. Researchers recently compared serving sizes in successive versions of the classic cookbook The Joy of Cooking. Over the decades, the estimated serving sizes of items like brownies, chocolate cookies, and casserole portions have almost doubled.
None of that would matter if we ate only as much as we need to satisfy our appetites. But we don’t. “The trouble is, if you put an oversized portion in front of people, they are likely to eat it,” says Barbara Rolls, PhD, professor of nutrition at The Pennsylvania State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan (HarperCollins, 2007). Rolls’ own research provides compelling evidence. In one experiment, volunteers were served varying portions of macaroni and cheese on separate occasions. The largest portion contained 30 percent more calories than the smallest—an additional 162 calories. Yet volunteers finished their plates even when served the oversized-portion. What’s more, more than half weren’t even aware that they’d eaten a much bigger portion. Packaged foods indicate right on the label how many calories a serving contains. So by all rights, it should be easy to control how many calories you consume. But many of us don’t stop at a single serving. “The small print may indicate that the package contains three servings,” says dietitian Suzanne Farrell, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “But how many people really read that? Most people open it and before they know it, they’ve eaten the whole bag of chips or consumed the whole bottle of cola.”
The problem of portion sizes is of special concern to people with schizophrenia. Some of the drugs used to control the disease increase appetite, making it especially hard to resist the lure of supersized containers. What to do? Nutritionists say it’s time to rein in runaway portion sizes by getting smarter about what we buy—and how much we eat. Here’s what they recommend:
Read the label. “When buying packaged foods, it’s essential to look at the label to see what the recommended serving size is and how many calories it contains,” says nutritionist Katherine Tallmadge, author of Diet Simple: 192 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits &; Inspirations (LifeLine Press, 2004). You may be surprised to find out that a serving size is only six chips or one-third of a bottle of cola. Calculate your own typical serving size. If you usually eat or drink more than the suggested serving size, add up the actual number of calories you consume. Then compare that to the total number of daily calories you should limit yourself to. A moderately active woman needs 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. Depending on how active he is, a man needs 2,200 to 2,800 calories a day. The less active you are, the fewer calories you need.
Take charge. Rather than eat what the package contains, decide in advance how much you want to eat. Set that amount aside and put the package away. Let your appetite be your guide. Whether you’re eating at home, in a restaurant, or having a snack, be aware of hunger. Eat slowly to give your body time to register the food you’ve consumed. It can take up to 20 minutes for satiety signals from the stomach to the brain to indicate that you’ve had enough. In restaurants, try dividing the portion in half. Eat just half. Take a few minutes to relax. Then decide if you’re hungry enough to eat more.
| Article Author: |
Peter Jaret |
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