Melisa Ceren Celensu

                                 
                                                          What You See Is What You Eat

Over the past few decades, portion sizes of everything from muffins to sandwiches have grown considerably. While increased sizes haven’t been the sole contributor to our obesity epidemic, large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) give a visual representation of what sizes used to be compared to what they are today.

If you are interested to take the quiz to see how food portions have changed in 20 years click here;

http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/index.htm

Significant Quotes

Here is an example of Anna-Leena Rasanen who had arrived in the U. S from Finland only eight days earlies, but she was getting the picture...

"The day we came, we went to a restaurant. First was a huge salad. Then chicken with spinach and pasta. That was huge. I didn't imagine a portion could be so big. Even my boyfriend [who's 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 230 pounds] said that he couldn't have eaten the whole portion." 

“Unfortunately, America’s waistbands have reacted accordingly. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent of us are. In addition, the number of just obese people has doubled, from 15 percent of our population to 30 percent.” ( Monte, 2011).

“American food companies have changed their servings drastically over the last 50 years.  In addition to bigger portions, studies are showing a tendency to overuse items coming from large containers when cooking.” (Danielle, 2012).

Let's see some examples of portion differences of 20 years ago and today.

Two slice of Pizza

Those extra 350 calories, if eaten a two times a month, would put 

on two extra pounds a year, or forty pounds in the next two

decades.

Movie Popcorn

Bagel

Today’s bagel counts for three servings of bread, but many of us 


would consider it one serving.

Cheeseburgers

According to a 2007 paper published in the Journal of Public 


Health Policy, portion sizes offered by fast food chains are two to 


five times larger than when first introduced.