|
Portion distortion takes toll on health |
 |
|||
|
While corporate America is downsizing, culinary America is supersizing. We are so accustomed to giant portions that normal size portions seem puny in comparison. I refer to this concept as portion distortion. Simply put, we are eating too much food. Unfortunately, supersized portions lead to supersized people. As a result, America has become a fat nation.
Two-thirds of adults in this country are overweight with one-quarter of these adults qualifying as obese. It’s taking a toll on our children as well. Fourteen percent of kids and adolescents are overweight.
As the weight on our national scale has gone up, so has the incidence of hypertension, heart disease, type II diabetes and cancer. According to the Surgeon General, approximately 300,000 deaths a year are associated with being overweight as compared to 400,000 deaths a year from smoking. It’s no longer just a matter of appearance, it’s a matter of life and death.
Our eating habits are killing us. One of those unhealthy patterns is overeating. Regularly overloading your plate puts you on the fast track to obesity. Whether at home or in a restaurant, we have to cut back on our portions. Large quantities of food may be a value to your wallet, but your waistline tells another story. In fact, your value meal will cost you more money in the long run as it takes a toll on your health.
Studies have shown that the bigger the portion, the more people eat. If we see it on our plate, we tend to keep eating even though we may be satisfied or simply don’t require any more calories. The solution to the portion distortion dilemma lies in reeducating ourselves about serving sizes. For example, a typical bagel can easily constitute four servings of bread. A pint of ice cream is four servings, not two.
To help you gauge portion sizes without pulling out measuring cups every time that you eat, I have listed some easy ways of “guesstimating” your food intake. They can guide you when loading up your plate.
· 1 cup of potatoes, pasta or rice is equal to the size of your fist. · 1 bagel should be no bigger than the size of a large “to-go” coffee lid. · ½ cup of vegetables is the size of three regular ice cubes. · 3 ounces of meat is the size of a deck of cards. · 1 ounce of cheese is the size of four stacked dice. · 1 medium piece of fruit is the size of a tennis ball. · 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is the size of a golf ball. · ½ cup of ice cream is the size of a tennis ball.
If dining in a restaurant proves to be too tempting and you struggle to avoid overeating, perhaps these tips will help:
· Eat slowly. It takes 20-30 minutes for your brain to receive notification from your stomach that you are satisfied. · Order an appetizer or lunch portion for dinner. · Split your entrée with someone. · When your meal arrives, immediately divide it in half and place it in a “to-go” box for another meal. · Limit the number of times per week that you eat out.
As a society we have been trained to think that more is better. When it comes to caloric intake, more doesn’t mean better; it means bigger---bigger people, bigger health problems.
By decreasing your portions, you can tip the scales in the right direction.
|
Wellness
Matters
Hot
Flashes
|
|||