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Food Portion Sizes Have Increased Dramatically in US

The findings confirm suspicions that serving sizes have grown ever larger and may be contributing to the rising rates of diabetes and obesity in the US. Just a an additional 100 calories a day can translate into 10 extra pounds a year

The growing obesity epidemic in the US over the past 30 years has coincided with a sharp increase in food portion sizes inside and outside the home--most notably in fast food restaurants--according to a report published in the January 22nd/29th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the report, 30.9% of US adults were obese in 1999, up from about 14.5% in 1971. But so far, no study has documented an actual increase in portion sizes, study authors Dr. Barry M. Popkin and Samara Joy Nielsen, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, note.

In their study, the authors analyzed data on more than 63,000 people who responded to food surveys in 1977 and 1998.

Portion sizes increased for nearly all foods at home and in restaurants. The serving size of an average soft drink, for instance, increased from 13 ounces and 144 calories to nearly 20 fluid ounces and 193 calories. The average cheeseburger grew from 5.8 ounces to 7.3 ounces, swelling from 397 to 533 calories. And salty snacks grew from 1 ounce to 1.6 ounces, climbing from 132 calories to 225 calories.

The largest portion sizes were found in fast food restaurants between 1994 and 1998. However, for desserts, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers, the largest portion sizes were actually dished out at home.

Since an additional 100 calories a day can translate into 10 extra pounds a year, the study underscores the need to control portion size, the researchers note. "Simply educating the public about which foods to eat or not to eat is not enough, as an equally important issue is the quantity of food being consumed," they add.