Preferred health and science writer Jane Brody reports that Americans now spend more than $46 billion a year on weight-reduction programs, and that the obesity rate of adults has doubled since the 70s. Go figure. Brody did, and she returned with the conclusion that Americans eat too much. Way too much. Compared to what we used to eat, writes Brody, almost every dish and beverage is super-sized. Brody points out that an average serving of pasta is now 480 percent greater than the
one-cup recommended serving size, and that somes cookies are 700 percent larger. She tells us aht a New York bagel, now sold nationwide, weighs five or six ounces. That is
five or six bread portions, supplying about 500 calories, not counting
cream cheese or butter.
What to do? Brody provides a list to clip and paste on a refrigerator or in the pantry cupboard to help remember what a portion is:
GRAINS AND GRAIN PRODUCTS
1 slice bread, ¼ bagel, ½ cup cooked rice or other grains, 2 ounces
uncooked pasta (about 1 cup cooked spaghetti), ½ to 1¼ cups
ready-to-eat cereal (depending on type), ½ cup cooked cereal.
DAIRY PRODUCTS 1 cup milk, 6 to 8 ounces yogurt, 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 1 ounce hard cheese, ½ cup ice cream.
MEAT AND MEAT SUBSTITUTES
3 ounces cooked meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup canned tuna, 2 tablespoons
peanut butter, 1 egg, 1 cup cooked dry beans, 3 ounces tofu.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
½ cup cooked or cut-up fruits or vegetables, 1 cup salad greens, 1
medium potato, orange, apple or banana, ¾ cup fruit or vegetable juice.
CONDIMENTS, ETC. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons salad dressing, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons whipped topping.
SOFT DRINKS Note
this last item. Eight ounces of a soft drink, not the 12 ounces in a
modern can or the 24 in a typical McDonald’s serving. Unless it is an
artificially sweetened product, you are consuming water with 7
teaspoons (108 calories)