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Supersize Portions and the Obesity Epidemic
Submitted by Parents as Teachers
"Every where you turn, it seems like our kids are offered foods and drinks that are just too big" states Vincent Iannelli M.D. in his article Portion sizes and the Obesity Epicemic. For example a Super Size order of French fries has 630 calories and 29 grams of fat. For an average 12 yr. old boy who weighs 90 pounds, eating a super size portion of fries provides more than a quarter of the daily calorie requirements and more than a third of the daily fat requirements, just from one part of one meal.
Add the Super Size soda for another 410 calories and you have a total of 1,040 calories. Without even getting a hamburger this child has already consumed more than half of his daily calorie needs!
What can a parent do? It's not really practical to make your kids avoid all unhealthy foods or to never eat at a fast food restaurant. The key is moderation and watching portion size. You may want to consider a simple hamburger (250 calories) or cheeseburger (300), small fries (250 calories) and a small drink (150 calories). Keep in mind that although downsized, this meal is still just over a 1/3 of the calories a 12 year old boy would need in a day.
To understand how portion sizes have grown, consider that what we view as a
serving today, is sometimes as much as two to three times more food than 20 yrs. ago. Here are some statistics as presented in the article Portions Past and Present by FIT Nation.
• "Twenty years ago the average bagel was 3" in diameter and 140 calories. What are the average numbers today?
Answer: 350 calories and 6 inches.
• A portion of spaghetti (1 Cup spaghetti and sauce and 3 small size meatballs) had 500 calories 20 years ago. What's the calorie content of a pasta portion today? 1,025 calories. Today's pasta portion is about 2 Cups of pasta and three large meat balls.
• Today's sodas overrun the 85 calories in 6.5 oz. of 20 years ago. What's the average calorie count today? 250 calories: The average portion size is now 20 ounces, three times the size sold two decades ago.
• Gobbling down a turkey sandwich would mean 320 calories about 20 years ago. What's the average today? 820 calories. Today's average portion is 500 calories more than in the past!
• A 1.5-ounce portion muffin was 210 calories 20 years ago. How many calories are in the average 4-ounce treat? Answer: 500 calories. Grabbing an oversize muffin may not be the best way to start the day.
• A box of popcorn at the movies 20 years ago held about 5 cups and 210 calories. How much is in the average tub of popcorn sold today? 630 calories. Today's tub holds about 11 cups of popcorn."
Preventing obesity needs to be started in early childhood. One aspect of prevention is knowing what your child is eating and where his calories are coming from. Dr. Iannelli has some excellent tips on how to keep your child's portion sizes under control both at home and when going out to eat.
• "Buy only single serving or 'bite size' snacks."
• "Review the label and repackage foods into single serving sizes. If a bag of cookies says that a single serving is 3 cookies, then put 3 cookies in a plastic baggie or on a plate when you give it to your kids."
• "Avoid letting your kids just eat from a bag of snacks or carton of ice cream, since they will likely eat much more than one serving."
• "Offer a single serving of the main course of any meals that you prepare at home, and let your kids have extra salad or other vegetables if they are still hungry."
• "Choose child portions, small orders, or half orders when you eat out at restaurants."
The article Overweight Children-Prevention and Treatment-Help Keep Your Kids From Becoming Overweight, adds a few further suggestions to prevent obesity.
• "Limiting the number of calories that your child drinks. Sticking to the usual recommended limits of 4-6 ounces of 100% fruit juice for children under age 6 years and only 8-12 ounces for older children.
• Obesity often starts in early childhood, with a common scenario being a child who drinks too much milk. Children usually only need about 16-24 ounces of milk each day."
Portion control and watching calorie intake is only one aspect of preventing obeisity in our children. Of course, it is vital that children are active and excersize on a regular basis. This will be considered in a later article.
Parents As Teachers is designed to encourage the development of your child. If you are interested in free home visits please call 356-4245.
Information taken from: Portion Sizes and the Obesity Epicemic by Vencent Iannelli, MD., Overweight Children- Prevention and Treatment About.com:Pediatri cs, and Portions Past and Present by FIT Nation.
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