Half-pound muffins?
Two-pound pasta bowls? Since the 1970s, American fast-food and sit-down
restaurants alike have contributed to the obesity epidemic by serving individual people enough food
for a small family.
Portion Size and
Obesity: How It All Adds Up
In competition with
each other and operating under the philosophy that bigger is better,
restaurants often serve up a portion size that is equal to two to four normal
servings, while menu boards at fast-food restaurants scream “supersized burgers
and fries!” Consider these portion-size facts:
·
In the 1950s, a regular fast-food burger was 2.8 ounces and 202 calories.
In 2004, that same burger was 4.3 ounces and 310 calories.
·
A regular Coke grew from six ounces in 1916 to 21 ounces in 1996.
·
These days, you can buy a “double gulp” drink that’s 64 ounces and more
than 600 calories, and a burrito that’s 1,100 calories or almost three-fourths
of the entire daily 1,600-calorie allotment for an average-sized,
non-exercising woman. Have them both, and you’re over the allotment.
Portion Size and
Obesity: Retake Control
Of course, nobody
stands over us, making us eat. But food psychology being what it is, we do it anyway.
“There’s quite a body
of research out there that has proven no matter how you serve the food —
whether in a bowl, a cup, a plate — the more you’re served, the more you’ll
eat,” says North Carolina State University professor and nutrition specialist Carolyn
Dunn, PhD, chair of North Carolina’s Eat Smart, Move More initiative. “It
doesn’t matter how hungry you are or what you ate earlier, you generally eat
more than you need to if it’s put in front of you.”
In one of several
studies on portion size and consumption, 180 adults were served either a
9-ounce or a 13-ounce portion of macaroni and cheese at a restaurant. The
adults who were served the 13-ounce portions ate 43 percent more — for an
additional 172 calories — than did the adults who were given the smaller
portions. Such research results lead nutritionists and food psychologists to
talk about “unit bias” — that is, the consumer’s psychological need, no matter
the hunger needs, to consume whatever unit is served, be it a
9-ounce portion of macaroni and cheese or a 13-ounce portion.
Portion Size and
Obesity: The Government Steps In
Nutrition experts know
portion size isn’t the only reason 65 percent of Americans are overweight or
obese, and it isn't just a problem when dining out. But increased portion size is a major contributor
to the obesity epidemic and one reason why women consume over 335 more calories
per day than they did in 1971, and men, 168 more calories per day. And
nutritionists believe restaurants, where Americans spend half their food
dollars, set the norm for what constitutes a satisfying plate of food at home.
The good news is that
nutritionists and public health agencies, even state legislators and public
policy makers, are on to us. Individual states have created awareness campaigns
around the causes of obesity, including portion size. Policy-makers in
California and New York City are enacting and implementing calorie-disclosure
initiatives, requiring some restaurants to publicly display calories on menu items.
The battle against
portion size is supersized, says Dunn. People don’t want to hear they need to
step away from the table, and appetite is a difficult desire to regulate. But
the message is slowly catching hold as consumers begin to understand the
seriousness of the obesity epidemic and their power over their own diet.
“Anecdotally, I
overhear people — friends and family — saying ‘That’s too much. That’s a huge
portion,’” says Dunn. “I think slowly we will swing the pendulum — for this and
all the other behaviors as well.”