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Kos Diabetes Group: Portion Distortion [1]

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Date: 2023-03-03

The term “portion distortion” comes from an academic article authored by Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M. Popkin at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the early 2000s. In it, they analyzed three national surveys centered on nutritional trends. The surveys involved more than 60,000 Americans and determined that in the years 1977–1996, U.S. portion sizes grew both inside and outside the home — particularly for salty snacks like french fries, soft drinks and Mexican restaurant food.

Food portions in America’s restaurants have doubled and sometimes even tripled in the last 20 years. The super-sized portions at restaurants have distorted what Americans consider a “normal” portion size and it effects how much we eat at home as well.

Portion size vs Serving size

It’s important to distinguish between the terms “portion” and “serving size.”

A portion is how much food you choose to eat at one time, whether in a restaurant, from a package or in your own kitchen. A portion is 100 percent under your control. What is consumed as a portion may contain multiple servings.

Serving Size is the amount of food listed on a product’s Nutrition Facts Label. All of the nutritional values you see on the label are for the serving size the manufacturer suggests on the package. This serving size may or may not be ideal for a diabetic.

The last time you scooped some ice cream for dessert, did you limit yourself to half a cup? If you took more, you’re pretty typical.

Likewise with soft drinks: Do you drink 8 ounces, 12 ounces, or even the whole 20-ounce bottle?

Ice cream and soft drinks are just two food products that have been affected by changes in serving size requirements that are included in the updated Nutrition Facts label. The goal was to bring serving sizes closer to what people actually eat so that when they look at calories and nutrients on the label, these numbers more closely match what they are consuming.

The serving sizes listed on the Nutrition Facts label are not recommended serving sizes. By law, serving sizes must be based on how much food people actually consume, and not on what they should eat. This is bad news for diabetics and others who must watch the amount of carbs (or sodium or fats) that they consume. What is listed as a serving size may be too much for you to eat at once. You need to do math (horrors!) to find out what a good diabetic serving size is. You should aim for 15g of carbs or less in your serving.

The FDA also changed the criteria for labeling based on package size. With the updated requirements, more food products previously labeled as more than one serving are now required to be labeled as just one serving because people are more likely to eat or drink the entire container or item in one sitting. Examples include a 20-ounce can of soda, and a 15-ounce can of soup. Many large muffins that were previously labeled as two or even three servings are now labeled as a single serving under the updated requirements, consistent with how people generally consume them.

Certain larger packages that may be consumed either in one sitting or more than one sitting—depending on your appetite and inclination—must now be labeled both per serving and per package. This dual-column format is required if a package contains at least two times the reference amount customarily consumed (on which the serving size is based) but not more than three times the reference amount. While a 3-ounce bag of Doritos might seem like a reasonable snack, there are three 140-calorie servings in that bag. A regular soda drinker probably wouldn’t flinch at the prospect of guzzling a 20-ounce bottle. But that one bottle contains 2.5 servings.

Previously, manufacturers were only required to provide the calorie and nutrient information per serving, and you would have to do the math if you’re eating the whole container. However, now if you have a hankering for some chips and eat an entire package, you’ll have easier access to information about what you’re consuming.

A major scientific review of 72 studies found that people — regardless of sex, eating behavior, body weight, or susceptibility to hunger — ate more if given larger portion sizes.

Portion distortion reinforces external food cues to dictate when you eat or stop eating. That means you become more reactive to eating food you see and less reactive to signals from your body indicating that you are hungry or full.

When you are served larger portions or purchase foods in larger sizes, you might assume that the amount you are getting is the amount that you should eat. People think this is a reasonable amount because “this is what I bought” or “this is what I was presented with.”

This thinking puts you at risk for overriding your internal fullness cues, which intuitively help you determine when you’ve had enough food.

Right-sizing Your Meals

So how do you go about getting your portions under control?

A good first step would be to invest in a set of measuring cups and spoons, along with an inexpensive scale. Take the time to measure the portions you’re eating at home. You may be shocked to find out how much you are actually consuming.

But don't worry that you'll have to carry a scale and measuring cups everywhere you go. Once you weigh and measure your food a few times, you'll have a better idea of what a normal portion looks like.

You can also use everyday objects to visually estimate portion sizes.

You may be surprised to learn these are actual serving sizes:

1 slice of bread

½ cup cooked rice or pasta

1 small piece of fruit (super-large apples are 2+ servings)

1 wedge of melon

1 cup of milk or yogurt

2 oz. cheese (about the size of a domino)

2-3 oz. meat, poultry or fish (this is about the size of a deck of cards)



Here are some other everyday objects to help you estimate portion sizes

Baseball: 1 cup fruits or vegetables; 1 cup cereal, pasta or rice

Hockey puck: 1⁄2 cup legumes, hummus, cooked oatmeal or grains, or tomato sauce

4 dice: 1 ounce cheese

Cap on a 16-ounce water bottle: 1 teaspoon oil, gravy, sugar or honey

Golf ball: 1⁄4 cup nuts or seeds

Shot glass: 2 tablespoons oil or salad dressing

Dental floss container: 1 ounce chocolate or a cookie

Here are some tips to help you control portion sizes and fight portion distortion when eating out

Order an appetizer instead of an entrée as your meal. Many times entrée items are also on the menu as an appetizer and the portion is smaller.

Split entrées with a spouse or friend or ask for a to-go box at the start of your meal. Go into the meal thinking ‘this should be two meals,’ and pack up half right away Many people say they grew up with the mindset that they shouldn’t waste food, but in many ways eating when you’re not hungry is a waste too. It would be less wasteful to share. It’s about shifting your mindset around what ‘wasteful’ really means.

Ask for a second plate – even if you’re dining alone. Gauge own hunger immediately ask for a share plate and put half your meal on the other plate. Eat the half you have first. Wait a few minutes and ask yourself ‘am I still hungry or would this be a fantastic lunch tomorrow?’ If you find that you do want more, first try taking only half of the leftover portion.

Be mindful of what you’re eating. Put down your fork and take a deep breath between bites. Try to really taste your food and have a moment of enjoyment with what you’re eating.

To combat portion distortion at home:

Downsize your plates . Try using salad plates instead of entrée plates. This will give you a more realistic sense of serving size – especially if you’re used to having a full plate. It will also help you moderate your portions.

Pack up leftovers immediately. When you’re done cooking, take the portion you want to eat and immediately package up the remaining food. If you let it sit on the stove, you’re more likely to eat more of it. Don’t serve food family style. Plate out your portion in the kitchen. If you are still hungry, you can get up for more.

Focus on your food . Shut off the TV! The ads can make you want to eat more, even if you’re not hungry. It also makes you much less mindful about the food you’re eating and your hunger and fullness cues.

Take a small portion of a snack food and put the container away . Better yet, buy these foods individually packaged, or divide the larger bag into portions immediately and store them in small baggies.

Even after you master the art of portion sizing, eating normal-size portions in a supersized world can take some getting used to. Studies have shown that the more food we see, the more we tend to eat. The key is to keep large portions out of sight -- and out of mind.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/3/2155935/-Kos-Diabetes-Group-Portion-Distortion

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