There's been considerable talk about portion control and the growing size of our portions. So why is this so important?
Well, next time you are eating a meal with a group of people, glance over at the amount of each food your companions have put on their plate. You'll notice that no two plates look alike.
Each of us has our own view of how much food constitutes a meal. Some of this dates from what we learned as children or may be influenced by the company we keep.
But a portion is not a standard set in stone; it is the amount of food you choose to eat.
We all need a different amount of food at varying times in our lives. We have higher calorie needs early in life and during periods of growth. But later in life our metabolism may decrease and we need to adjust downward to prevent unwanted weight gain.
Still, portion control is important even during childhood to help promote proper growth and to meet the nutritional requirements of essential nutrients. It can be helpful to use a smaller plate when serving your child just enough to avoid inadvertently dishing out adult size portions. As a general rule, for young children a tablespoon of food for each year is an appropriate portion size
Portion size is important when reading food labels. If you do not know how much you ate, how can you accurately determine the calories, fat, sodium and other ingredients that you consumed?
Your portions may be larger or smaller than those listed on a food label. And this is particularly important when a person must follow a specific diet for medical reasons. As an example, inaccurate carbohydrate calculations may result in too high or too low blood sugars for diabetics.
If you use convenience foods, you may have noticed that the portion sizes of prepackaged and convenience foods started increasing in the 1970s and they have continued to grow. This, along with the large portions served in restaurants, has made it difficult for people to judge what an appropriate portion should be for them. Some restaurants may serve a 16-ounce steak, which is four times the amount needed to meet the protein needs of most people at one meal. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has noted that in the past 20 years a bagel has grown from a 3-inch diameter to 6-inch diameter with calories jumping from 140 to 350. A cheeseburger that once was 333 calories now is more than 590, almost double. Check out the Portion Distortion quiz at http://hin.nhlbi.gov/portion/.
The only way to accurately determine a portion is to use dry measuring cups for solid foods, liquid measuring cups for fluids and a small kitchen scale for meats and cheese. Most people tend to underestimate their portions when they use their eye, resulting in consumption of significantly more calories, sodium and fat, or whatever nutrient you are concerned about controlling. Over time, this can result in unwanted weight gain and rising blood sugars, cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Use portioning to your advantage and measure foods out for future meals. This will make things easier for you. Many weight-loss companies use this concept to help people control their calories by measuring the food for them and offering them as prepared meals for a substantial charge.
Measuring your food for yourself is cheaper and will provide a way to more accurately estimate how much you are eating and thus make more sensible decisions both at home and when eating out.
(Ms. Gibbons, a Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator, provides outpatient nutrition medical therapy at Cape Cod Hospital.)