The Perils of Portion Distortion

Over the past 20 years portion sizes of common foods have steadily increased, along with weight of many Americans. The latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reports 64.5 percent of American adults (over age 20) are overweight. Experts agree that larger portion sizes in restaurants and grocery stores may be partially to blame.

That muffin serves eight?
According to the American Dietetic Association, fast-food chains offer portions that are two to five times larger than they used to be. Ready-to-eat and prepared foods (like bagels and muffins) can be two to eight times larger than the serving size recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

So what exactly is a serving?
Comparing food labels, government recommendations and servings in restaurants doesn’t always help.
• A typical restaurant portion of spaghetti is about 3 cups
• USDA guidelines set the serving size for spaghetti as 1/2 cup cooked pasta
• Nutrition Facts Panel on spaghetti food labels (governed by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA), state a serving as 1 cup cooked pasta. To date, there’s little consistency as to what exactly a serving is. Of note, the restaurant-sized portion of spaghetti contains 1000 calories or more and that doesn’t include the typical accompaniments: salad, salad dressing, and garlic bread. It’s no wonder that people are confused about what a serving is!

Tips for Portion Control
Educate yourself about how much food you should be eating. The number of calories our bodies require each day is based on factors such as height, weight, age, amount of physical activity and health status. Your Doctor or Registered Dietitian can be a good source of information about your individual calorie needs. Rule of thumb: if you are gaining weight, you are probably eating more than you need.

Use the food label to determine your portion size: Look carefully at the serving size listed on the label. If the label on a box of crackers says the serving size is five crackers, the nutrition information provided on the label is for five crackers (one serving).

Looks can be deceiving. Some foods like small pot pies and ramen noodles look like a single-serving, however, according to the food label the package serves two. Most people eat the entire package and end up with double the calories and sodium.

Liquid calories count. Did you know that a 20-ounce soft drink is labeled as 2 -1/2 servings? That’s 250 calories, instead of the 100 listed on the label for an eight-ounce serving. Extra large coffee drinks made with whole-milk may have 700 or more calories (mostly from sugar).

Alcoholic beverages also rack up calories, especially mixed and blended varieties. Five-ounces of red wine is about 100 calories. A margarita made with tequila, sweet and sour mix and triple sec is about 60 to 65 calories per ounce, almost 500 calories in an eight ounce drink.

Don’t clean your plate. Most restaurant entrées are big enough to share with someone or save a portion for another meal. Get a doggie bag and divide your food before you start eating. If you can’t resist the temptation to eat the whole thing, ask for half-sized-entrée portions, order petite cuts of meat or choose an appetizer as your main dish. When eating fast-food, avoid super-sized or extra value meals or order a child’s meal.

Fill up on low calorie foods. “Volumetrics”, an eating plan developed by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., is based on maintaining the volume of food you eat but decreasing the calories. The theory is you will consume fewer calories and feel full if you eat food high in fiber and water like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. For example, instead of one cup whole milk (145 calories), substitute the same amount of skim milk (80 calories) and save 65 calories. One cup of cooked pasta will set you back 200 calories, the same amount of cooked broccoli is about 45 calories. Choose smaller portions of foods that are calorie dense and make up the difference in volume with lower calorie items.

Learn to “eyeball” a serving size. At home, measure foods you eat most often to see what a serving looks like on your plate. This will help you have better idea of what a reasonable portion looks like when you don’t have a food scale or a measuring cup.

Put the bag away. If you are eating a snack food, take out your portion, then close the bag and put it away. The tendency for many people is to eat until the bag is empty.

Calories count. Saving a few calories here and there adds up. It takes an excess of about 3500 calories to gain a pound. On average, eating 100 extra calories a day can add up to a ten pound weight gain in a year. Resisting the temptation to eat an extra bit of potatoes or finish off the last bit of cereal in the box will help you keep the extra pounds away. Remember, every calorie counts!

Estimating portion sizes using everyday objects:

Fats, Oils, Sweets (Eat sparingly):
1 teaspoon of butter or margarine = a postage stamp, a thumb tip (top joint)
2 tablespoons salad dressing = a ping-pong ball 1 ounce of nuts = one handful

Milk, Yogurt, Cheese (2-4 servings per day):
1 cup milk or yogurt = softball
2 ounces cheese = 4 dominoes
1 ounce cheese = your thumb

Vegetable Group (3-5 servings per day):
1 cup raw leafy vegetables = softball
1/2 cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables = light bulb, or 1/2 softball

Fruit (2-4 servings per day):
1 medium size fruit or 1/2 cup fruit = baseball

Meat (2-3 servings per day)
3 ounces (1 serving) = deck of cards, computer mouse, palm of a woman’s hand
2 ounces peanut butter = ping-pong ball

Serving Size Comparisons:

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