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Portion Sizes
The newest phenomenon …out of control portion sizes.
It’s happening at fast food dining, nicer restaurants, even in our own kitchens. For the past two decades, portion sizes have ballooned…and so have our waistlines.
Consider this…if you add just 100 extra calories per day over the period of a year you will gain 10 pounds.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(Jan 03) Americans are eating per portion, on average:
· 93 more calories from salty snacks, such as potato chips, pretzels and popcorn
· 49 more calories from soft drinks
· 97 more calories from hamburger
· 68 more calories from French fries
· 133 more calories from Mexican food, such as burritos. tacos, enchiladas
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Food |
Standard “Serving” |
Imagine the Size of a: |
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Bagel |
2 oz |
Yo-Yo |
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Cereal, cold |
1 cup |
Large handful or a pair of rolled up sports socks |
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Cereal, hot |
½ cup |
Tight fist or tennis ball |
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Cheese |
1 oz |
4 stacked dice or ping-pong ball |
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Fresh fruit |
1 medium piece |
Tight fist or tennis ball |
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Margarine |
1 tsp |
Tip of thumb |
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Meat, poultry, seafood |
3 oz |
Deck of cards or palm of woman’s hand |
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Pasta, rice, mashed potatoes |
½ cup |
Tight fist or tennis ball |
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Pancake |
1 medium |
CD |
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Potato |
1 medium |
Computer mouse |
When comparing portions sizes to federal standards, most marketplace portions exceed standard sizes of many foods and beverages by as much as eight times. One large bagel can easily equal the equivalent of 5-6 servings of bread/grains. This discrepancy explains why many Americans view the six to eleven servings of bread, cereal, rice, pasta and grains that the food pyramid recommends as too much, when actually many Americans are eating 2-4 times the recommended servings in this category.
Tips for Managing Portion Sizes
· Downsize that dinner!
o Don’t be afraid to ask for a lunch portion or see if the restaurant will let you order from the child’s menu
· No mega-super-biggie anything!
· Good portions come in small packages
o If your will power is overpowered by a full bag of potato chips sitting in the pantry, buy only individual lunch size bags.
· Size up servings
o Check out how many servings are in a box. You may be surprised if you actually measure them out.
· Be gone buffets!
o Be very careful of buffets. It is nearly impossible to practice portion control in an “all you can eat” situation.
· Learn standard portions sizes and keep track of how much you’ve eaten!
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