What we eat can have a great deal to do with our weight and cardiovascular health, but so can the amount that we eat. Men and women today are consuming over 700 calories a day more than was eaten in the 1970's. A big reason for this change is "portion distortion." Cookies are now the size of pancakes, bagels look like life rafts, muffins are bigger than baseballs and soft drinks resemble small swimming pools. Says Dr. Denise Bruner of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, "Plate size is part of the problem. Dinner plates used to be 10.5 inches in diameter at sit-down restaurants; now they're closer to 12.5 inches. As a result, an 8-ounce serving of pasta has evolved into a 16-ounce serving simply to fill the larger plate.

And fast-food resuarants have kept pace. Ten years ago, the standard was a 3.5-ounce hamburger, two ounces of French fries and an 8-ounce soft drink. "Supersizing" has expanded the average meal to a 5-ounce hamburger, four ounces of French fries and a 20-ounce soft drink.

The root of the problem, according to many experts, is that many people do not know what a normal portion is. The USDA Handbook #8, first published in 1963, was the first to list "standard portion sizes" for a variety of foods. For the next dozen years or so, food products pretty much came in those sizes. Then, food marketers decided to increase portion size and a dietary culture of monster muffins and giant bagels began to evolve. As a result, we are taking in more calories because of big portions that no longer reflect a single serving. For example, a single portion for a muffin is 1.5 ounces, but often one muffin today will contain three or four servings.

So, be aware not only of what you eat, but how much you eat as well.
1 | Left by Anon | Apr. 14, 2011 at 5:14pm