Portion Distortion

While many Americans believe the kind of food they eat is more important that its quantity portion sizes have been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. Meanwhile nutritionists are studying the relationship between obesity and portion sizes and are trying to figure out how to get individuals to recognize the amounts of food they’re consuming. Articles written in journals such as Nutrition Reviews, the Journal of American Dietetic Association and the American Journal of Public Health have ample information on the subject. What I have learned to my surprise is that there is a discrepancy between the standard sizes the USDA recommends in the food pyramid and what the FDA requires in food labels. For those of you who may not know, the FDA is responsible for the food labels on everything we eat and drink. Why the difference? Well, the answer seems to be a combination of history and politics.

Not only can these two organizations not agree on standard serving sizes, but they are both way off when compared to real life servings in restaurants, fast food joints, and even cookbooks. According to the food pyramid a diet of 2,000 calories per day recommends 6-11 grain servings. This appears to be a lot to the average person because it seems to imply that one must consume grain 6 to 11 times a day. But that is not the case. The average bagel is about 6 ounces which is the equivalent of 6 servings. So if you had a bagel for breakfast this morning you’ve already consumed your daily amount of grain. How is anyone supposed know how to eat the appropriate amounts of healthy nutritious food when this kind of confusion is taking place?

It has been established by researchers that people have a difficult time estimating the size of what they eat. Differences in weight and volume measurements are confusing (I’m experiencing this first hand with my new USDA diet), and the terms small, medium, and large are subject to interpretation, and people who eat larger portions tend to underestimate the sizes of what they are eating to begin with.

So what’s the answer? Well, here are some portion control tips recommended by people working toward losing weight:

• Divide food in half before eating.
• Eat and drink out of smaller plates and cups.
• Center you meal around vegetables instead of meat or carbs.
• Fill up on salad and soup.
• Use your hand as a guide: a fist is about 1 cup, your palm is about 3 oz.

There is also a product available called the Portion Plate, which seems like it could actually be very helpful. Check out http://www.portionplate.com/ for more info.