Modern portion sizes

We were all told as kids to finish everything on our plates- and it seems most of us carried that into adulthood.

The problem is over the years portion sizes have grown along with plate sizes! A few extra cm on your plate can increase kJ intake significantly. We have become so used to large portions, that if served a smaller portion we actually feel disappointed or worry we will go hungry. Even a slice of bread is now bigger than it used to be making an old fashioned sandwich actually a sandwich and a half!

What is a real concern is that discretionary foods- those foods that are considered snack foods- have doubled in size as well. A muffin is significantly larger than it used to be. As is a slice of Pizza! The issue is that the amount we eat is often dictated by the size of the packet we buy or the dish we order. And this is not the recommended serving size according to dietary guidelines. These large servings are contributing to the obesity epidemic that we have in Western countries.

Unfortunately, it would seem that we lack the willpower to stop eating when full. Some research has indicated that if the serving size is large we will just keep on eating. In one study conducted in 2012, 54 participants were served soup in bowls, half of which were being imperceptibly refilled via hidden tubing under the table as their contents were consumed. Those eating soup from the "bottomless" bowls ate 73% more, but didn't believe they had consumed more, nor did they perceive themselves as feeling any fuller than those eating from the normal bowls (1)

In another study, 158 movie-goers were randomly given a medium or large container of free popcorn that was either fresh or stale (two weeks old). Those given fresh popcorn ate 45.3% more popcorn when it was given to them in large containers. But the influence of container size was so powerful that even when the popcorn was disliked (because it was stale), people still ate 33.6% more when eating from a large container than a medium-size one. (2)

And yet another study, involving 85 nutrition experts, serving themselves a bowl of ice cream has been reported. Researchers gave out a variety of bowl and scoop sizes. Those with larger bowls served themselves 31% more ice cream without being aware of it. Those with a larger serving spoon dished 14.5% more into their bowls. (3)

The take home message is that whether it's food we serve ourselves, or pre-packaged food, limiting portion size is important to health and weight management. I have recently started using wide bowls rather than plates for main meals, and feel it makes a big difference in helping to reduce potion sizes. It is also very important that we don’t send our kids the message that they have to eat everything on their dinner plate. Rather keep leftovers, and recycle for lunch the next day.