Hypothesis Refined

HYPOTHESIS
If adults had a better understanding of the amount of food they were eating then there would be a decrease in the percentage of overweight and obese people in the U.S.

BACKGROUND
Obesity has been on the rise since the 1980s and recent studies show that almost two-thirds of American adults are overweight. People are not any less active then they were 20 years ago, but the one thing that has surely changed is how much they eat: Americans eat too much. For the past few decades restaurants have slowly been increasing their portions and even cookbooks have followed suit with the size of their ingredients listed. Sizes are now so out of proportion that the terms small, medium, and large are subjective, and many fast food restaurants have even discontinued their size small and added an extra large. Research studies show that is in our nature to eat what is in front of us regardless of how full we are, or even if the food is any good. Most Americans believe that what you eat is more important than how much, but as many nutritionists have explained the more calories you eat the more weight you gain.

Because of the growth of waistlines the country has food on its brain. For the past 18 years Parade magazine has conducted their “What America Eats” survey. This survey acts as a snapshot of what, where, and how American’s are eating and in the latest survey more women than men are cutting portion size (64% vs. 53%), reducing total calories (44% vs. 38%), eating smaller meals (44% vs. 32%) and substituting healthy alternatives (51% vs. 44%). This is evidence that Americans are getting the message that eating and health are connected and are changing their eating habits. The differences in the percentages of women and men could be a result of the stereotypical perceptions of the sexes and their appearance; women who take their weight very seriously is somehow more acceptable than men who do the same.

The change in eating behavior, specifically when it comes to food portions can be partially attributed to the coverage the subject has gotten in recent years. Many health agencies such as the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases have put out information on the subject. The latter has released several publications that explain the differences between portion and serving sizes and how to tell how big your portions are. The former has an online portion distortion quiz where users can compare food portions from 20 years ago to today and learn the amount of physical activity it will take to burn off the extra calories of today’s portions. Another contributor to the rise and hopefully fall of food portion is the food service industry.

The Prevention Institute, a nonprofit that addresses complex health and social issues, released From Wallet to Waistline, a report on the financial and caloric costs of upgrading to larger portions at retail food establishments. For a few more dollar or cents a customer can increase the size of their meal, such as the Big Gulp at 7-Eleven. Providing more food for less money is termed value marketing and has proven to be very profitable for food companies and is what they are steadily relying on. While this gives the customer the impression that they have gotten a deal, the larger portions contain more calories and encourage overeating. But some restaurants are sensing a change in what their customers want. The restaurant chains TGI Fridays and the Cheesecake Factory have small-portion options on their menus, and Applebees has a Weight Watchers endorsed section of their menu. This idea isn’t going away any time soon since a recent survey by Food Technology magazine states that 4 out of 10 restaurant chain chefs think portion size will be a new major trend.

Another element that needs to be considered is diets. Search for diet books on www.amazon.com and you’ll get 212,952 results. There is a different diet for every type person on the buffet line, and many individuals go on one diet after another to end up exactly where they started. People who are overweight are aware of the issue, but many feel powerless to change it, as evident in their online journals which are are filled with self-critical, negative words.While the science of nutrition is always changing and many diets go in and out of fashion, portion control is the most recommended by nutritionists and has been coined the no-diet diet. Meaning it is the easiest and most assured way of losing and maintaining a healthy weight for life.

References
- Young, Lisa R., Ph.D., R.D. The Portion Teller Plan. Morgan Road Books, 2005. pp.5
- Wansink, Brian, Ph.D. Mindless Eating. Bantam Dell, 2006. pp 15
- Hales, Dianne. “We’re Changing The Way We Eat.” Parade magazine,Nov. 12, 2006
- Just Enough For You. Online. Oct. 8, 2007. [http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/just_enough.htm]
- Portion Distortion. Online. Oct. 8, 2007. [http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/]
- From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super Sizing. Online. Oct. 8, 2007 [http://www.preventioninstitute.org/portionsizerept.html]
- Stein, Joel. “Big Chain Restaurants’ New Small Portions.” Time magazine, May 10, 2007