Obesity in the Headlines

Are restaurants responsible for nation's obesity epidemic?

Health official says portion sizes partly to blame

By Renee DuFore Russell
The Reporter
rrussell@fdlreporter.com

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" is usually a lament, not a boast.

How much food is too much?

"Portion sizes have definitely gotten larger, not only in restaurants, but at home, too," according to Nan Baumgartner, Family Living Educator with University of Wisconsin-Extension.

U.S. residents have gotten heavier over the years, and some overeaters have actually tried to blame their overindulgence on restaurants and other facets of the food industry. The threat of lawsuits against fast food chains loom.

Gov. Jim Doyle last week took a stand when he vetoed legislation that would protect the food industry from lawsuits relating to a person's weight gain, obesity or food-related health issues.

Baumgartner cited figures that show that nearly one third (31 percent) of adults are obese, based on their body mass index (BMI), a number calculated using a person's weight and height. Another third are overweight.

In the younger population, 15 percent of youth ages 6 to 19 are overweight, and another 15 percent is at risk of becoming overweight.

Part of the problem, Baumgartner said, is the perception of how much we should be eating.

"There is a difference between 'serving size' and 'portion size,'" she said.

A serving is a standard measure of food. Serving-size information found on food labels gives the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommendation for how many servings a package contains or what role that food has in a person's diet.

Portion size, on the other hand, is how much a person actually eats.

It's a matter of ideal vs. actual.

For example, Baumgartner said, a serving of pasta is a half-cup. But a person, at a single meal, might take seconds or thirds and actually consume a portion that is three or four times the recommended serving.

She thinks people should "actually step back, once in a while, and measure out their food." Some folks will be surprised, she thinks, to learn that they've been choosing more than they should.

In a restaurant, she suggests asking for a smaller portion, asking for a half portion or sharing with the portion with someone else, or taking half home.

Bottom line?

"We all need to be responsible for knowing what's healthy, and for making choices based on good nutrition and adequate serving size," she said.