Obese America: The Fight For Our Lives

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ccording to the CDC, the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

And let's face it. One notable reason for this sad fact is that Americans have lost their feel for reasonable food portioning. With "value sizing," buffet restaurants, and the Texas steakhouses gaining popularity in our everyday lives, our perception of a "regular" portion has grown out of control. In the 1950s, for example, a typical serving of Coke was a six-ounce bottle, which provided approximately 75 calories. Gradually the size increased to the 12-ounce can, then the 20-ounce bottle, and now the Big Gulp, which is 32 ounces and approximately 400 calories, containing five times the original calorie content. Our plates and glasses have become so large that a once typical eight-ounce serving of juice or a half-cup of rice seems punitive.

To maintain a lower weight and eat a healthy variety of food, we need to scale back on our portion sizes. Not only will a realistic perspective on portioning make you look better in your bathing suit this summer, it could save your life. Researchers have estimated that dietary changes could prevent as many as 35 percent of cancer deaths.

And the Food Guide Pyramid says...
The USDA Food Guide Pyramid provides suggestions for a healthy number of servings and serving sizes by food groups. The table below illustrates the number of servings in lower calorie, low-fat meal plans, and the number of calories in a single serving:

Food GroupDaily Servings per Caloric LevelCalorie Content per Single Serving
 1,8001,5001,200 
Breads, cereals, pasta,
rice, grains
87680
Fruits33260
Vegetables43325
Low-fat milk cheese,
yogurt
322nonfat - 80
whole fat - 150
Lean meats, poultry,
beans, nuts, eggs
2-32-32Lean meat - 25 calories/ounce
Medium fat meat - 55 calories/ounce
Fatty meat - 75 c/ounce
Fats, 1 tsp.44345

At first glance, you may think that you couldn't possibly eat that much food. For example, who eats eight servings of breads and starches in a single day?

It's all in the serving size...
The Food Pyramid has something very different in mind when it uses the word "serving" than, say, your local Italian restaurant. For example, a dinner portion of spaghetti would count as two or three servings of pasta, according to the Food Pyramid.

Here are some examples of serving sizes, according to the USDA Department of Health and Human Services:

Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group
1. 1 slice of bread
2. 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta
3. 1/2 cup of cooked cereal
4. 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal

Vegetable Group
1/2 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables
1 cup of leafy raw vegetables

Fruits
1 piece of fruit or melon wedge
3/4 cup of juice
1/2 cup of canned fruit
1/4 cup of dried fruit

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese
1 cup of milk or yogurt
1-1/2 to 2 ounces of cheese

Meats, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts
2-1/2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
Count 1/2 cup of cooked beans or one egg as 1 ounce of lean meat

And the serving says...
So as you can see, the word "portion" gets blown out of proportion at many American restaurants, and in a great number of American minds.

This simply means that if you're committed to adhering to a healthier daily menu, then it's important to be honest about how many portions are really on your plate, and start counting them. And like most things, learning to recognize a real single serving is tough at first, and gets easier. With a little effort, these practices will become second nature. In a short time, your friends and family will all be looking for you for nutritional advice!

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