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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – With the exception of a slice of bread, the portion sizes of commonly eaten foods have steadily grown over the last 30 years. Even the average restaurant plate is 2 inches larger! We’ve gotten so used to these exaggerated amounts that we think they are normal.
Research has shown us:
Larger portions encourage people to overeat, even foods that they don’t like or don’t taste good.
When people are served large portions, they eat up to 40% more calories at the meal.
After eating either a large portion or a regular portion, people rate their feelings of fullness the same even though they ate far more with the larger portions. Overeating numbs your feeling of satisfaction from eating.
Our awareness of portions has become distorted. According to government surveys we typically eat 2½ times the standard serving of potatoes, 4 times the standard serving of pasta, and 2 times the standard serving of rice. Thirty years ago, a typical soda sold in a quick service restaurant was 8 ounces. Today it can be 32 ounces with unlimited refills. A 32-ounce soda has 400 calories! Add on a large burger plus fries and you may have eaten more than half your calories for the day.
A recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics tracked menu items from the 10 most popular US quick service restaurants in 1986, 1991, and 2016. Entrees, sides and desserts increased in portion size over time causing an increase in calories and sodium. Everyday in the US 37% of all adults eat fast food. The percentage edges close to 50% for those aged 20 to 39. Eating one meal and a side averages 767 calories, add a beverage and you are edging close to 45% to 50% of a person’s daily calorie intake.
We are not only choosing to eat the wrong foods but we are overeating, too. The sheer amount of food in these large portions is contributing to our obesity epidemic, not only in the US but worldwide as well. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal looked at this issue from a global perspective examining meals ordered in fast food restaurants in Brazil, China, Finland, Ghana and India.
Local fast food restaurants are very common worldwide and the number of meals eaten away from home is increasing globally. Excessively sized restaurant meals are beginning to normalize overeating on a worldwide scale as the rate of obesity in developing countries rises. The researchers found that 74% of the meals, from the countries examined, had more than 600 calories. Only China, with the lowest incidence of obesity among the countries studied, had fast food meals that were 34% lower in calories than a comparable fast food meal in the US.
Overeating, regardless of the food choices, may have a central role in our human girth expansion worldwide. Large fast food meals would not be a problem if they were eaten infrequently, but that is not the case. Some market research suggests McDonald’s sells 75 burgers every second. When the chain first opened, an average burger plus the bun weighed less than 4 ounces. Today a 4 to 6-ounce meat patty is the norm. Thirty years ago, an order of French fries was 2.5 ounces and approximately 230 calories, today it is supersized and tips in at over 500 calories.
We even overeat good-for-us foods. The size of a tennis ball approximates a medium fresh fruit, but it is hard to find this size because even good-for-you fruits have been supersized. A small orange has 45 calories, a large one 86. A small apple has 55 calories, a large one 110. A small pear has 86 calories, but a large one has 133.
In this era of oversized portions, it is hard to keep quantities reasonable.
Think small:
A soup bowl is not a standard serving dish for ice cream.
A small coffee (10 oz) with cream and sugar has 80 calories; a large (16 oz) has 160.
A teaspoon equals the size of your thumbnail.
A wafer ice cream cone has 17 calories; a waffle cone 120 and that is without the triple scoop of ice cream. Stick to a single scoop.
A ping-pong ball equals a 2-ounce serving of cheese.
Heartburn and hefty portions: Many people go easy on fatty foods and take medication to reduce common heartburn. It may not be the foods they are eating but the portion sizes they consume that cause the problem. Smaller portions will cut down on heartburn, too.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of 30 books. Available as eBooks from iTunes and Kindle/Amazon:
Diabetes Counter – the most up-to-date information on managing diabetes
Calorie Counter – a weight loss guide that won’t let you down
Protein Counter – put the latest protein recommendations to work for you
Healthy Wholefoods Counter – planet-friendly eating made easy
Complete Food Counter – food counts and nutrition information at your fingertips
Fat and Cholesterol Counter – newest approach to heart-healthy eating
Available in print from Gallery Books:
Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd Ed.
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.