Portion Sizes Growing Out of Control.

• Position: Brief Article

Nutrition experts with the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) are calling for people to take a day to measure the serving sizes of their favorite foods. Making time to "eyeball" individual serving amounts, they maintain, reveals a widening gap between the servings listed on food labels and the helpings most Americans actually consume.

"Portion sizes are getting bigger, and Americans are getting fatter," cautions Melanie Polk, the Institute's Director of Nutrition Education. "The two trends are related. Over the past few decades, the amount of food we consume has steadily increased. That's why AICR is asking people to `size up' how much they're really eating over the course of a day."

According to clinical studies, Americans underestimate the amount of calories they consume each day by as much as 25%. AICR believes that such "unconscious eating" helps to explain why more Americans than ever--55%--are considered overweight. This means those individuals are at increased risk for such obesity-related ailments as cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, and osteoarthritis.

Changes in the American marketplace have spurred the growth in portion size. Fast food chains have competed for consumer dollars by inflating their serving sizes. Modestly sized bagels and muffins have disappeared from American cafes, replaced by creations three or four times their size. Many restaurants are using larger plates laden with more food to assure customers they are getting their money's worth.

For a single day, AICR urges consumers to follow these quick, simple steps at each meal: First, check the serving size listed on the "Nutrition Facts" food label and fill a measuring spoon or cup with that amount. Next, empty the food onto a plate. At this point, they should make a mental snapshot of what they...