Portions Exceed Calorie Needs
Portion size increases mean we eat more than our calorie needs
without thinking. These three studies show how we're losing touch
with our real needs.
Why Our Environment is Making Us Fat
Public health professionals in the UK and US are increasingly
focussed on the apparent
obesity epidemic facing both nations. This
year, the results of several studies have shown that increasing
portion sizes over the last two decades are making us eat calories we don't
need - and wouldn't want, if they were not on the plate in front of us.
How Serving Sizes have Grown in Calories
Researchers at the University of North Carolina studied the changes
in portion sizes in the US between 1977 and 1996.
The findings, reported in the Journal of the American Medical
Association by doctoral student Samara Joy Nielson and
professor of nutrition Dr Barry M Popkin, showed that portion sizes in key food groups had increased markedly.
The increases were significant in calorie terms: salty snacks
increased by 93 calories per portion, soft drinks by 49 calories, hamburgers by 97
calories, French fries by 68 calories and Mexican food by 133
calories.
The Effect on How Much We Eat
The problem is that when we are presented with more food on a
plate than will meet our needs, most of us will eat more without even thinking about it.
The good news is that studies showing we eat more calories when given more,
also show that we still feel satisfied when given less.
Commenting on the results of a restaurant study at Penn State
University, Dr Barbara Rolls, who holds the Guthrie Chair of Nutrition
said, "The bigger portions that restaurants are providing make
consumers vulnerable to overeating, since most individuals eat all or
most of what is served."
In the study, the size of a pasta dish portion served was varied
between a standard serving and a serving 50% larger. Customers who
ordered the meal were asked to rate their satisfaction and the
appropriateness of the portion size.
The results showed that customers who were served the larger
portion ate nearly all of it - consuming an extra 172 calories. The
survey responses showed that customers rated the size of both portions
as equally appropriate for meeting their needs.
Double Trouble: High Calorie Bigger Portions
A further Penn State study by doctoral candidate Tanja Kral
examined the effects of portion size and calorie density.
In the study, 39 normal weight and overweight women ate breakfast,
lunch and dinner once a week for six weeks in the University's
Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behaviour. The breakfasts
and dinners were standardised, but lunch was formulated to vary in
portion size and calorie density.
"Portion size alone increased calorie intake by 20%. Calorie
density alone increased by 26%." says Kral
That's an overall increased calorie intake of 56%. The amazing
thing is that when people were given smaller portions and/or less
calorie dense food it didn't leave them hungry.
Kral says, "Even though the study participants consumed 221 fewer
calories when offered a smaller meal of lower calorie density, they
felt just as full and satisfied as when they had consumed a larger
meal of higher calorie density."
All going to show that our eating habits are being adversely
affected by the food industry's desire to sell us more product. We're
losing touch with what it means to eat as much as our bodies need;
making the food environment we're in a dangerous place to be. Rolls
argues that the food and restaurant industry and policy makers should
develop strategies to persuade consumers, who are used to big
portions, to get back in touch with their real calorie needs.
Whilst waiting for the industry to change, people concerned about
their weight and health should start thinking about portion sizes,
especially of high calorie foods, and
try to get back in touch with their own real needs.
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