Originally published December 18 2005
Obesity experts look at the effect of enlarged portions on America's health
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Salt Lake Tribune examines how the size of meal portions has grown in the U.S. over the past 20 years and how this phenomenon has impacted the state of public health by contributing to the current obesity epidemic.
In 1985, bagels were about 3 inches in diameter and had about 140 calories.
"As a country, we've really lost sight of what a normal portion is," says Katherine Beals, director of the University of Utah's Nutrition Clinic.
The potential to overdo it is even greater during the holidays, when research shows we're most likely to gain weight with such an abundance of high-calorie, high-fat food available.
So in our Sugarplum Challenge to maintain weight through the new year, this week's goal is to pay attention to portion size at home and when dining out.
This builds on last week's goal (keeping food and exercise journals), which you should keep doing.
Successful weight loss and weight management depends on three key ingredients: food quantity, food quality and physical activity, says Steven Aldana, a professor of exercise science at Brigham Young University.
Clara Reyes, 72, discovered the importance of food quality and quantity two years ago when she attended Salt Lake County-offered classes on dining out.
For our goal, we're talking about more than measuring a 3-ounce filet of salmon for dinner or a half-cup or raisins for your afternoon snack.
It may be more effective, then, to pay attention to portions based on the types of foods we eat, according to researchers at Penn State University.
Several of their studies show people who eat low-calorie foods have better results at losing and maintaining weight than people who eat the same amount of calories but in high-calorie foods.
In one study, more people lost weight by eating low-calorie food than people who were advised to reduce fat intake and portion sizes.
"We're fatter now than any other time in recorded history and we have more diabetes now than anytime in state history," Aldana says.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml