Increasing obesity rates
As a nutritionist recognizing the importance of managing portion sizes for good health, I have been tracking changes in food portions and studying historical trends and the health implications that go with them — like rising obesity rates — since the 1990s. My latest research paper, Portion Sizes of Ultra-Processed Foods in the United States, 2002 to 2021, coauthored with my NYU colleague, Dr. Marion Nestle, was recently published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
We wrote this paper, in part, because the obesity statistics are grim. As of 2018, nearly 74% of U.S. adults were considered overweight or had obesity and were at higher risk for diet-influenced chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. In the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity has increased more than 30% in adults; and since the mid-1970s, it has quadrupled in children and teens.
What follows are some helpful hints to eat less of the five most common processed foods.
Ultra-processed foods and weight gain
Regular consumption of large portions of ultra-processed foods — unhealthy calorie-laden food high in sugar and salt and low in fiber — is likely one of the contributing factors to the rise in obesity. These foods may contribute to weight gain in several ways:
— Large portions contain more calories than small portions. They also encourage people to eat more and to underestimate how much they are eating. It’s almost as if they never registered having eaten the big portion at all.
Here are a few key points from our findings:
— Food companies are still selling many ultra-processed foods and drinks in larger portions than when first introduced. While some companies have reduced their portions by small amounts, most continue to sell the larger sizes.
— Current portions sizes of ultra-processed foods, including fast food, soda and chocolate bars are up to five times larger than when first introduced. For example, when Hershey’s introduced the chocolate candy bar in 1908, it weighed a mere half an ounce — equivalent to today’s “fun size” given out on Halloween. Today the company sells five sizes of chocolate bars ranging in weight from 1.6 ounces to 7 ounces.
— As we write about soda: “At first introduction, most companies offered products in just one size; that size is smaller than or equal to the smallest size currently available. For example, the original size of a Coca-Cola bottle was 6.5 ounces; today it comes in six sizes marketed as single servings; these range from 7.5 ounces to 24 ounces, four of which have been introduced since 2002.”
— Even where manufacturers reduced the size of some products, they compensated by introducing larger options. As we write: “In 2020, for example, McDonald’s introduced a Double Big Mac with four patties and containing over 700 calories.”
— Bigger portions are also generally priced as a better bargain than a smaller size.
The December issue also contains a terrific editorial on our research “Yes, Food Portion Sizes and People Have Become Bigger and Bigger. What Is to Be Done?” by Drs. Carlos Monteiro and Jeff Cannon, from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Ultra-processed foods are particularly problematic because they contain excessive amounts of sugar and salt; are low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals; and are cheap and easy to grab and eat on the go.
Oversized portions
As I wrote in my book Finally Full, Finally Slim, paying attention to portion sizes is one of the best ways to not only manage weight but to also allow you to include all foods in your diet. Having a small portion of your favorite food will, most likely, not contribute to poor health and weight gain. It’s the oversized portion sizes — quart-sized sodas and triple burgers — that are problematic.
These days, because so many portions have become oversized, they are now considered typical and may skew our perception of what a reasonable portion should look like. Plus, the advice to only eat or drink “one” portion can be misleading. After all, is a quart-sized soda really just one soda or is more like three to four sodas?
Here are five popular foods we often eat (or drink) too much of, along with tips on reducing how much of them we eat .
Soda
When you head into the store or pass by a vending machine to get a soda, you generally buy a 20-ounce bottle thinking that it’s the perfect portion for one person. Really, however, a “healthy” portion is around a third of the bottle. An 8-ounce portion of cola contains 100 calories and 6 teaspoons of sugar — certainly enough for one person. And when you go to a fast-food restaurant you can easily get a quart-sized soda.
My tip: always order the smallest size available when heading to a restaurant. It will probably be close to 12 or 16 ounces. Certainly, big enough.
Cereal
We’re often in a rush in the morning and pour a portion of cereal into our oversized bowl for a quick and easy breakfast. While we think we are pouring around 1 cup of cereal, we often tend to pour closer to 3 cups. While it’s healthiest to choose a whole grain cereal high in fiber and low in sugar, we often pour too much of whatever cereal we have around into our bowl.
My tip: Keep measuring cups handy to familiarize yourself with serving sizes. Aim for around 1 cup of cereal flakes, which weighs around 1 ounce, and use a smaller bowl. Using a smaller bowl is half the battle, as our portion will look bigger when we pour it into a smaller bowl.
In this study, the bigger the bowl, the more cereal people poured. Add berries or your favorite fruit for added volume and a boost of vitamins and minerals.
Beer
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise that women consume no more than one alcoholic beverage daily and men consume up to two drinks. How big should that drink be?
When it comes to beer, a recommended portion is 12 ounces. That’s easy enough if you get a 12-ounce can. However, many single-serve bottles and cans are much larger. In our study, single-serve beer cans ranged in weight from 8 to 25 ounces, while bottles ranged in weight from 7 to 40 ounces. And when dining at a restaurant, many beer glasses contain closer to 20 ounces of beer.
My tip: Stick with a 12-ounce beer can. And remember, you don’t need to finish it.
Hamburger
It’s common to see double- and triple-sized burger on a fast-food menu. How does that stack up? A McDonald’s Double Mac contains four patties and close to 800 calories. The triple whopper sandwich at Burger King weighs around a pound (15.5 ounces to be exact), contains three quarters of a pound of beef and nearly 1,400 calories.
My tip Aim for 3 to 4 ounces of beef and stick with a single burger. Still hungry? Enjoy a side salad.
Potato chips
Chips anyone? That would be 12 chips (equivalent to one ounce) according to the food label. It’s not easy to eat only 12 chips unless you pre-portion them out in advance or buy small bags. Don’t be fooled, however, by those 3-ounce bags that look like a portion for one person. They really contain enough for three people; and the recommended portion of chips is 1 ounce or one third of the bag.
My tip: Enjoy just one handful of chips as a snack. Purchase 1-ounce bags when possible. Add fruit and veggies if you are still hungry. Another idea, which I advise here, is to make your own air-popped popcorn, which is a healthy whole-grain snack, and enjoy a more generous 3-cup portion, which is an ounce.
One final piece of advice:
Try to incorporate more whole foods and minimally processed foods into your daily diet instead of ultra-processed foods and enjoy more generous portions offruits and vegetables. After all, no one got fat eating too many carrots or bananas.
5 foods we eat too much of:
Soda.
Cereal.
Beer.
Hamburger.
Chips.
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Foods We Eat Too Much of originally appeared on usnews.com
