One of the reasons why you may find yourself a little bigger than you used to be is because serving sizes have gone up over the last 20 years. It’s not your imagination: it’s now easier than ever to eat double what you actually need to be eating. And the bigger the serving size, the more you eat—one of the reasons why over 30% of Americans are overweight or obese.
To put things in perspective, here’s a list of popular American foods and their serving sizes. We’ll compare today’s numbers with those of 20 years ago.
| Food | 20 Years Ago | Today |
| Bagel | 3 inches in diameter, 140 calories | Almost twice the size in diameter, 350 calories |
| Cheeseburger | 333 calories | 590 calories |
| Spaghetti and Meatballs | 1 cup of spaghetti and three meatballs, 500 calories | 2 cups of spaghetti and three meatballs, 1,025 calories |
| Soda | 6.5 oz, 85 calories | 20 oz, 250 calories |
| French Fries | 2.4 oz, 210 calories | 6.9 oz, 610 calories |
| Turkey Sandwich | 320 calories | 10-inch sandwich, 820 calories |
| Coffee | 8 oz (with milk and sugar), 45 calories | 16-oz mocha coffee, 350 calories |
| Blueberry Muffin | 1.5 oz., 210 calories | 5 oz., 500 calories |
| Pizza | 2 slices of a large pepperoni pizza, 500 calories | 2 slices of a large pepperoni pizza, 850 calories |
| Chicken Caesar Salad | 1.5 cups, 390 calories | 3 cups, 790 calories |
| Theater Popcorn | 5 cups, 270 calories | 1 tub, 630 calories |
| Cheesecake | 3 oz, 260 calories | Large piece, 640 calories |
There’s no reason why serving sizes should increase this much, and it’s a big contributor to the rising obesity epidemic. To avoid this problem, watch what you eat: you don’t need to order the largest soda on the menu, even if you think that’s what will get you the most bang for your buck. Ultimately, your health is worth a lot more.
Source(s) for Today’s Article:
“Portion Distortion,” Department of Health and Human Services web site, hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/index.htm, last accessed June 12, 2013.
“How to Avoid Portion Size Pitfalls to Help Manage Your Weight,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site, www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/portion_size.html, last accessed June 12, 2013.
