The findings confirm suspicions
that serving sizes have grown ever larger and may be contributing to the rising
rates of diabetes and obesity in the US. Just a an additional 100 calories a day
can translate into 10 extra pounds a year
The growing obesity
epidemic in the US over the past 30 years has coincided with a sharp increase in
food portion sizes inside and outside the home--most notably in fast food
restaurants--according to a report published in the January 22nd/29th issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to the
report, 30.9% of US adults were obese in 1999, up from about 14.5% in 1971. But
so far, no study has documented an actual increase in portion sizes, study
authors Dr. Barry M. Popkin and Samara Joy Nielsen, from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, note.
In their study, the
authors analyzed data on more than 63,000 people who responded to food surveys
in 1977 and 1998.
Portion sizes
increased for nearly all foods at home and in restaurants. The serving size of
an average soft drink, for instance, increased from 13 ounces and 144 calories
to nearly 20 fluid ounces and 193 calories. The average cheeseburger grew from
5.8 ounces to 7.3 ounces, swelling from 397 to 533 calories. And salty snacks
grew from 1 ounce to 1.6 ounces, climbing from 132 calories to 225 calories.
The largest portion
sizes were found in fast food restaurants between 1994 and 1998. However, for
desserts, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers, the largest portion sizes were actually
dished out at home.
Since an additional
100 calories a day can translate into 10 extra pounds a year, the study
underscores the need to control portion size, the researchers note. "Simply
educating the public about which foods to eat or not to eat is not enough, as an
equally important issue is the quantity of food being consumed," they add.
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com.
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