Portion Increase, a Possible Heart Disease?

Written by Joe Suppes

Photo by Burger Baroness under Creative Commons License

Livin’ Big

             The saying ‘everything is big in Texas’ doesn’t apply just to the Lone Star state anymore. It also applies to the fast food culture and food in general. For example, did you know that 40 years ago McDonald’s only burger weighed about 1.5 ounces, compared to today’s largest patty of 8 ounces? That’s quite an increase, isn’t it? Read on about what happened to our meal portions and how it may affect our health.

 How Much is Enough

Since the 1970s, overweight and obesity has drastically increased. There is a 19% increase in people that are overweight and a 15% increase in obesity. Food is often offered in larger quantities at many different eateries. For example, according to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a typical two slices of pizza has 350 more calories than twenty years ago. Twenty years ago we didn’t have a choice of five different sizes of coffee. Nowadays, you may buy a 32 ounce cup of coffee that can have as many calories as someone’s dinner. Serving sizes are so messed up today that it’s hard to tell how much food is enough.

 More Calories, More Fat

With constant increase in portion size we are consuming more food, more calories, and more fat. And, it seems like the increase is no where near the end. The recommended daily amount of meat for adults should be around 5 ounces. Recently, fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Wendy’s and others, introduced several massive burgers with calories up to a 1000, with 12 ounces of meat. That’s enough meat for two days! The Hardee’s breakfast burrito which includes eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, cheese, gravy- I hope I am not missing anything- and hash browns has more than 900 calories and about 60 grams of fat. Keep in mind that the recommended amount of fat per day is 65 grams. Such increase may have negative effects on cholesterol and heart health.

 Cornell Study

When you’re at the movie theater, have you seen the sizes of those buckets of popcorn? According to NHLBI, today’s popcorn at the movies has more than 350 extra calories compared to two decades ago.  

Cornell University conducted an interesting study where two groups were divided, with different sizes of buckets, and different tastes of popcorn. One was with a medium size and the other group with a large size and stale popcorn. The study showed that taste didn’t even matter. The buckets were finished regardless of the taste, even with larger sizes. And, that’s what amazes me the most. Why force yourself on empty calories when it doesn’t even taste good? Maybe it’s because we want to get our money’s worth. But, seriously, they’re so big we can fill up those buckets to wash our cars.

 Who’s to Blame

The food companies are just one part of the problem. We are another part of it. Yes, I said it. We tend to buy more food when it’s cheaper thinking that we’re getting great deals. Well, a great deal is when we buy healthy foods, not buckets of popcorn or super sized meals. We are so used to ‘have to buy more if cheap’ mentality, that we even start to complain if the bucket is not overflowing with popcorn. I know it’s tempting and I tend to do it myself, but we must realize that we’re not actually offered a better deal. What we’re offered are more calories and fat.

Next time, when you are ordering food, try and get a smaller portion. See how it feels, because you’re probably getting just enough to satisfy those food cravings.

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