The Portion Size Puzzle: Right vs. Wrong! PART 2

[Guest guest]

The Portion Size Puzzle: Right vs. Wrong!

Part 2

Portion Size: How Can You Tell How Much You Should Eat?

Wow, food has gotten big! And so have we. Restaurants, from fast food drive-ins to fine dining have been upping the portion size of their meals, and the results is the greatest number of obese men, women and now children in the world, relative to population size.

And you're trying to learn how to eat healthfully! Well,

knowledge is power...

and learning how to choose will help you learn how to lose!

Pasta: one serving of pasta is 1/2 cup, or the amount you can hold in one cupped hand.

A cup of raw salad greens looks like about the amount you could hold in two hands cupped together.

A serving of cheese, such as Swiss or cheddar, looks like the top-half of your thumb joint.

A serving of fish, such as tuna, equals about 4 ounces, and looks a bit larger

than the palm of your hand.

3 ounces of meat looks like the palm of your hand

One egg = one ounce of meat, 1/4 cup of egg substitute = 1 egg

Ice milk or nonfat ice cream: 1/2 cup = about 1 ice-cream scoop

1/2 cup of cooked vegetables, pasta or rice will fit into a medium frame woman's hand.

Two cupped hands will hold a cup of raw leafy vegetables such as spinach or tossed salad.

One ounce of pretzel rounds is about 15 pieces.

The tip of a medium frame woman's thumb equals about 1 teaspoon,

three thumb-tips equals about 1 tablespoon.

Think you know the numbers?

Well, portion sizes have increased tremendously over the past 20 years.

Just check out this eye-opening Portion Distortion quiz from the National Institutes of Health:

Q: A bagel 20 years ago was 3 inches in diameter and had 140 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's bagel?

A: Today's 6-inch bagel has 350 calories.

This is 210 more calories than a 3-inch bagel 20 years ago.

Q: A cheeseburger 20 years ago had 333 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's cheeseburger?

A: Today's fast food cheeseburger has 590 calories.

This is 257 more calories than a portion 20 years ago.

Q: A portion of spaghetti and meatballs 20 years ago had 500 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's portion of spaghetti and meatballs?

A: Today's portion of spaghetti and meatballs has 1,025 calories.

This includes 2 cups of pasta with sauce and 3 large meatballs.

This is 525 more calories than a portion 20 years ago.

Q: A 6.5-ounce portion of soda had 85 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's portion?

A: A 20-ounce soda has 250 calories.

This is 165 more calories than a portion 20 years ago.

Q: 2.4 ounces of French fries of 20 years ago had 210 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's portion?

A: Today's 6.9-ounce portion of French fries has 610 calories.

This is 400 more calories than a 2.4 oz portion 20 years ago.

Q: A turkey sandwich 20 years ago had 320 calories.

How many calories do you think are in today's portion?

A: Today's 10-inch turkey sandwich has 820 calories.

This is 500 calories more than a portion 20 years ago.

One more telling figure: the standard dinner plate used to be 10 inches in diameter.

Today it stretches 12.5 inches from side to side.