Weight Issues and Solutions

Portion Control: Change Your Thinking or Your Plate?

According to experts, we have become so accustomed to oversized portions of food and extra-large serving dishes that we can no longer tell how much we are overeating. We may have more success at reducing our excessive portions by reducing the size of our food packages and serving pieces than by trying to figure out a healthy portion size. That’s essentially the conclusion Cornell University professor Brian Wansink reaches in a recent analysis published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association on the problem of Americans’ extra-large portions.

Research from Cornell University and Penn State has repeatedly shown that the larger the amount of food we are faced with – whether on our plate or in serving bowls – the more we will eat. We might not eat everything, but we still eat more than if we started with less. This has been demonstrated in single meals, such as comparing the amount eaten of different size sub sandwiches, and in totals over a period of several days.

For many people, eating more when presented with large amounts of food may be tied to the “Clean Plate Club” phenomenon; we have been taught to view not eating all we are given as wasteful. However, researchers suggest that we may often be unable to even recognize extra-large portions. Studies show that when an equal amount of food is presented on a relatively large and small plate, we see the large plate as having less food than the smaller plate, which seems more full.

Studies also show that we tend to eat in “units.” If we buy a package of six cookies or crackers, we usually eat them all rather than leaving part of a package. If a “unit” or package of candy, French fries or soft drinks gets larger, we are more likely to eat the whole container anyway. And food units in the United States – packages in stores and portions in restaurants – have grown dramatically in the last 20 years. For example, a bottle of soda 20 years ago was 6.5 ounces and had 85 calories; today’s soda comes in 20 ounce bottles that can contain about 250 calories. Along with calorie consumption, extra large portions can significantly increase the amount of fat and sodium we get.

One way to improve your portion size management is to learn to better judge the amount of food in front of you. Studies have shown that if people practice measuring out different portion sizes, their accuracy can improve. The American Institute for Cancer Research and the United States Department of Agriculture have both developed educational materials to help people learn to recognize serving sizes by comparing food amounts to common objects. For example, three ounces of meat, poultry or fish look like a deck of cards or a checkbook. A half-cup of pasta or rice looks like a tennis ball or a cupped handful.

Because of how our perception of portion size changes depending on the size and shape of the container, Wansink argues that we should pay more attention to our packages, plates and serving bowls. Market research shows that single serving packages are booming in popularity, which may be one step in this direction.

Look around your kitchen at the different size plates, bowls and glasses you have available. Instead of serving ice cream in two- or three-cup cereal bowls, make half- or one-cup custard cups the official ice cream bowl. With 200 calories per cup in even many healthful cereal choices, our tendency to simply fill a bowl and then eat it all could turn that bowl of cereal into a higher-calorie breakfast than you realize if you use large bowls. You don’t have to get rid of those big bowls; large portion sizes are one way to increase the amount of nutrients we get. If you want people to eat more salad, they will do so automatically with bigger salad bowls.

Finally, Wansink’s research shows that the more food we have on hand, the more we will eat. So ignore the “common sense” of grocery store marketing urging you to buy two packages of cookies or chips for the price of one; you may just eat twice as much. If you find it’s easier or less expensive to buy large quantities of snack foods (such as nuts or trail mix), you can separate the food into several healthful portions, or take some out and tuck the big package out of sight.