Portion Distortion:
Its about PORTION
size!
Prepared by Lynn Maarouf, M.S., R.D., L.D. - Stark Diabetes
Center
Edited: 03/07/2004
So-called “mega-portions” of food
and people’s tendency to finish everything on their plates are major
contributing factors to the developed world’s obesity epidemic, say US
researchers.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University
investigated the way consumers responded to the portion size they were
fed at meal times. They found that people from both sexes, whether
normal weight or overweight, ate more when more food was available but
did not report feeling any fuller after eating larger portions.
The researchers found that when served a “five-cup” portion of macaroni
and cheese, subjects would eat 30 per cent more than those who were
given a portion 50 per cent smaller.
When more food is available people will eat more regardless of the need
to feel full, conclude the study’s authors. “Men and women,
normal-weight and overweight individuals, restrained and unrestrained
eaters, all responded to larger portion size by eating more,” says Dr
Barbara Rolls, leader of the study. But she adds that it is not
increased portion size alone that is responsible for the global obesity
epidemic but “rather eating large portions of high-calorie, high-fat
foods”. “Large portions of foods low in calories and fat such as
vegetables, fruits and broth-based soups can aid weight management by
providing satisfying portions with few calories,” suggests Dr Rolls.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2002
Do You Know How
Food Portions Have Changed in 20 Years? Take the Interactive Quiz from
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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