Portion Distortion: Less Is Not Always More

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Portion Distortion: Less Is Not Always More

May 29, 2008

Food portions have gotten larger over the years. From "super size," to "all you can eat" most food portions are enough to feed at least two or three people. You may be thinking, "So what?" but with this growth in portion sizes comes an increase in waistlines, body weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart disease. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has done a little research to put portion sizes of 20 years ago and portion sizes of today in perspective. You'll be surprised to see the differences in sizes as well as in calories.

20 years ago	Today
140 Calories	350 Calories

There's more so read more.

20 years ago	Today
45 Calories	350 Calories
210 Calories	610 Calories
500 Calories	850 Calories
333 Calories	590 Calories

Hopefully the visuals will serve as a little reminder that it's a good idea to scale down the portion sizes you get when eating out. Eat half that bagel. Order a short mocha instead of a tall. Bring half your dinner order home and have it for lunch the next day. There are a lot more interesting comparisons so visit the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to check them out.

32 Comments

ElectroPopTart 4 years 51 weeks

I'm TRYING to eat small portions. I mean, I'm doing something right since I've lost 31 lbs since December 26th...but I'm still stuck on eating a little more than I should at restaurants.

delia 4 years 51 weeks

I recently read something about portion sizes at Italian chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill. Most of the meals they analyzed were well over 1000 calories EACH, and the spaghetti and meatballs from Macaroni Grill has almost 2500 calories and 57 grams of fat! They compared it to eating SIX Quarter-pounders. Even if you split that bad-boy into THIRDS it's too much food!

inertia 4 years 51 weeks

I remember the smaller American sizes. Now I live in Japan, which still uses those old-fashioned small portions. It's very nice going to a restaurant here and being able to get an appetizer/soup, small salad, entree, dessert, and drink. I eat it all and it *just* fills me up, and it's satisfying having a wide variety of food in a single meal. A dinner like that in an ordinary restaurant might cost about $15 or less and there's no tipping. When I go back to the US for visits, I can't get more than one dish, and still have to save half of it for leftovers. There are more calories but it's not as satisfying because there wasn't enough variety in the food for balanced nutrition.

italianblonde 4 years 51 weeks

That's funny, dunnonuttin, because I noticed a few things I buy, including my power bars, have been getting smaller too! But in regards to that coffee picture, of course the small looks huge in comparison, but I always think it's never enough for me!! I need my coffee.

dunnonuttin 4 years 51 weeks

This kinda reminded me of something I noticed the other day; my energy bars that I have been buying for years now, suddenly they are smaller. The package is the same size and of course the price is the same but the bar itself is smaller. My husband and I speculated that maybe that's how the company is making up for things (gas to deliver, slow sales from the economy, etc). I wonder if other companies will start doing this too.

kia 4 years 51 weeks

You would think we were all marathoners or some other endurance-type athletes now.

aimeeb 4 years 51 weeks

Dear God...

Francoisehardly 4 years 51 weeks

I showed this to my mother and she put an idea in my head. Would people be able to campaign or do something about moderating portion sizes and going back to what it's supposed to be? It's kind of scary how portions can go up and people don't even notice it or at least some people don't realize that those aren't the portions we're supposed to be having. I don't know how popular of an idea it would be though.

uptown_girl 4 years 51 weeks

A lot of restaurants charge a split plate charge. And that SUCKS. I generally steer clear of chain restaurants, and those are the ones with the extra charge. Boo!

AMP 4 years 51 weeks

wow. thats so sad b/c thats what we are used to nowadays and don't know any different. if we went back to those other sizes, even if they were to fill us up, it would be a hard mental battle actually telling ourselves that those portions could satisfy us.

moemarsita 4 years 51 weeks

Yipes! I like the idea of only eating half of my dinner at restaurants because it's so darn expensive. It's only worth it if I can stretch it into two meals!

lauralovesjazz 4 years 51 weeks

Wow! They actually double and triple in calories!!

rpenner 4 years 51 weeks

I am not at all surprised. But it makes it seem more real, and scary, seeing the pictures side by side like that!

luv2blazy 4 years 51 weeks

Holy Bagel Batman. That looks huge.

vinnie 4 years 51 weeks

SCAREY! Splitting meals when you go out is also great. You save money that way too!

ScoutsMom 4 years 51 weeks

One reason healthy is so expensive is that the raw materials for junk food (corn in the form of high fructose corn syrup and soy) are heavily subsidized, making them less expensive. Consequently, the increasingly rare non-corn or soy-based products become ever more expensive. Pay close attention to legislation like the Farm Bill -- it makes a difference.

MartiniLush 4 years 51 weeks

When I go out to eat, I usually have half of my order boxed up to go right away - the portions are so huge! That way, I won't flip into "auto-pilot" and eat all of it at one sitting.

lolababy575 4 years 51 weeks

Wow, I really didn't know that there was such a big difference in serving size. I'm only 21 and I haven't been around long enough to see a ton of those changes first hand, but WOW. And I am frustrated with the food companies that have brought us to this point. When even my sandwich from Jimmy Johns is supersized, I feel like eating out really isn't an option anymore. I don't have the option to take things home and refrigerate because I'm in classes all day and work all night. Why can't they just adjust their sizes back?

sh3mta3 4 years 51 weeks

Claim Jumper is the WORST when it comes to portions. They are out of control! When I eat out, I try to go in with the intention of taking home most of whatever I've ordered for leftovers the next day. That way I'm not as likely to over eat. Once I even got a to-go container before I was even finished just so it wouldn't be on my plate.

WeightingGame 4 years 51 weeks

two nights ago, I tried a little Weight Watchers cup of choc chip cookie dough ice cream. Portion contro, 140 cal. Last night, I dug into a big ole gallon of lite American Idol Edy's ice cream. I am positive I ate five of those little WW cups' worth. But it was just so good....

Francoisehardly 4 years 51 weeks

Plus, on the rare occasion I feel like having a bagel, I actually prefer a mini bagel. What are now "regular" size bagels seem too much to me now and if I have one, it's only half.

Francoisehardly 4 years 51 weeks

Imagine how much better off we would be with the portions from 20 years ago.

capttony 4 years 51 weeks

Niko and New, I agree with you. I have two daughters and when we all go out to eat say for breakfast, my wife and the two girls share a plate. The restaurants these days really gear to making the choice for you. And forget going off the menu. For instance, I noticed on a menu of a chain restaurant that they had a separate salmon "platter" and a Caesar Salad but forget trying to combine a dinner sized caesar with a piece of grilled salmon. They just wouldn't do it. If anyone has a good resource for food portions and such, I'd love to see it, so pass it on.

Le Luxe 4 years 51 weeks

Damn. That old bagel seems teenie!

EmyAnne 4 years 51 weeks

dunnonuttin- I feel your pain!! It's so frustrating to want to eat healthy (or have to because you have a million food allergies like myself) and have to pay so much more money and leave a restaurant still feeling hungry. Last weekend my husband took me to a nice restaurant where he got this 3 course deal because we were there kind of early. His meal cost $20, first the bread and olive oil came, than he got a starter salad, his entree: big steak, grilled veggies, & mashed potatoes, and choc. chip mint ice cream with wafer cookies for dessert. I ordered an entree chicken salad, so all i got was the salad, no dessert or anything. The piece of chicken was literally a 2 once piece with hardly any lettuce, and my meal cost $25 and i was still VERY hungry when we left! This happens a lot!

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32 Comments

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