Portion Size
Obesity Rates
The rise in obesity rates over the past 30 years has been paralleled by increases in the portion size of many foods and the prevalence of eating away from home (Ledikewe, 2005).
Contributing Factors:Body weight is the result of the balance between calories consumed and those expended. Because reported levels of physical activity have changed little since the early 1980s (Young, 2012). Much of the increase in calorie intake can be attributed to foods consumed outside the home in restaurants and fast-food places. Americans spend nearly half their food budget, and consume about one third of their daily calories, from foods prepared outside the home where portion sizes have expanded greatly (Young, 2012).
Marketplace portions of many foods have continued to increase through the first decade of the 21st century (Young, 2012). Recent observations identified 147 new large-size portions introduced from 2000 to 2009, among them hamburgers, pizza, burritos, candy bars, and beverages. The top fast-food chains introduced many new large-sized portions (Young, 2012). |
McDonald's introduced an Angus Third Pounder (850 kcal), and Wendy's introduced larger-sized burgers including a Triple Baconator burger (∼1300 kcal) and the Classic Triple with Everything (∼1000 calories) (Young, 2012). Burger King introduced a Quad Stacker sandwich (1000 kcal); a King-size 42-oz soda (410 kcal); a Steakhouse Burger (950 kcal); and the Enormous Omelet Sandwich (730 kcal). Its Original Whopper contained 670 kcal, but the more recent Triple Whopper provides 1230 kcal with cheese. Subway introduced “Footlong” recession specials containing nearly 1200 calories each. Hardee's debuted Thickburgers with two thirds of a pound of beef; its Monster Thickburger contains 1420 calories (Young, 2012).
National restaurant chains such as Denny's, Ruby Tuesday, and The Cheesecake Factory also added larger-size menu items. The calorie counts of such items constitute substantial fractions of the 2000–3000 kcal/day required by most Americans to maintain weight (Young, 2012). |
One factor reported to influence portion size is the size of the dishware used to serve food (Pratt, 2012). Specifically, larger dishware increases appropriate perceived portion size and reduces the ability to monitor food intake, which ultimately increases the amount of food eaten during a single eating occasion (Pratt, 2012). It is popularly reported that since the 1960s average plate size used in both domestic and commercial settings has increased from approximately 10 in. (25.4 cm) in diameter to approximately 12 in. (30.5 cm) in diameter (Pratt, 2012). Studies have proved that people serve themselves more food if using a larger bowl (Pratt, 2012).
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References:
Ledikwe, Jenny, Ello-Martin, Julia, Rolls, Barbra. "Portion Sizes and the Obesity Epidemic". The Journal of Nutrition. 2005: 4: 905-909.
Miller, Andrea. "Size Matters: Food-Portion Size, That Is". Patient Care. 2005: 16: 10: 55-77.
Pratt, Iain, Croager, Emma, Rosenberg, Michael. "The Mathematical Relationship Between Dishware Size and Portion Size". Appetite. 2012: 58: 1: 299-302.
Young, Lisa, Nestle, Marion. "Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic". Am J Public Health. 2002; 92(2): 246-249.
Young, Lisa, Nestle, Marion. "Reducing Portion Sizes to Prevent Obesity: A Call to Action". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2012: 43: 5: 565-568.