| |
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - The super-sizing of the American waistline
over the past 30 years has coincided with a sharp increase
in food portion sizes inside and outside the home —
most notably in fast food restaurants, according to a study
released Tuesday.
The findings confirm suspicions that serving sizes have grown
ever larger and may be contributing to the rising rates of
overweight and obesity in the US.
According to researchers, nearly one third of US adults was
obese in 1999, up from about 15% in 1971. But so far, no study
has documented an actual increase in portion sizes, explain
researchers in the January 22nd/29th issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association.In the current study,
they analyzed data from national surveys conducted between
1977 and 1998 and including more than 63,000 people aged 2
years and older.
Portion sizes increased for nearly all foods at home and in
restaurants. The serving size of an average soft drink, for
instance, increased from 13 ounces and 144 calories to nearly
20 fluid ounces and 193 calories. The average cheeseburger
grew from 5.8 ounces to 7.3 ounces, swelling from 397 to 533
calories. And salty snacks grew from 1 ounce to 1.6 ounces,
climbing from 132 calories to 225 calories. Pizza was the
only food that didn't blossom in size or calories between
the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, and portions actually decreased
in size.
The largest portion sizes were found in fast food restaurants
between 1994 and 1998, but for desserts, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers,
the largest portion sizes were actually dished out at home.
Since an additional 100 calories a day can translate into
10 extra pounds a year, the study underscores the need to
control portion size as a way to control weight.
"Simply educating the public about which foods to eat
or not to eat is not enough, as an equally important issue
is the quantity of food being consumed," Dr. Barry M.
Popkin and Samara Joy Nielsen from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, write.
They note that food pricing and marketing are potential barriers
to changing behavior. Fast food restaurants, for instance,
offer much larger portions for minor increases in prices.
In some cases, it is less expensive to buy the larger portions.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
2003;289:450-453.
|
