Obesity in America
It’s no secret that Americans are fatter than ever. Even just since 2000, the obesity rate has gone up from 20% to 30.3% in Georgia alone. In fact, there isn’t a state in the US that has experienced an overall decrease in obesity rates – ever. According to data from The State of Obesity, Americans weigh an average of 24 pounds more than the average American in 1960.
Portion distortion
It’s easy to blame the “Mc World” that we have adopted since the 60’s. We want easy, we want fast. While this alluring lifestyle is definitely contributing to the clear obesity epidemic in which we are trying to emerge from, there are other factors to consider as well. For example, a concept dubbed “portion distortion” is a huge contributor. Portion distortion refers to increase in the size and calorie count in foods. Restaurants are serving more food on larger plates. If you were to go to a restaurant 20 years ago and order your average spaghetti and meatballs, you would consume about 500 calories. Today if you go to the same restaurant and order the same spaghetti and meatballs, you are going to be served DOUBLE the calories. Restaurants realized somewhere along the lines that if they increase their portion sizes, customers were happier and they could charge more. Great for business, bad for consumers.
There is more to portion distortion than plate sizes and restaurant serving sizes. Last week I bought some bagels at the local farmers market. They were delicious, but they were also a third of the size of a common bagel. It got me thinking a lot about portion sizes and how we look at our food. Was this what a bagel should look like? Or was I being ripped off? I was perfectly content after eating just one. In fact, the true portion size for a bagel is the size of a hockey puck.
The fact is that even regular grocery items like loaves of bread, bagels, bottles of soda, and boxes of cereal have increased in size. Twenty years ago the average size of a bagel was three inches and only 140 calories. Today, we consider a good bagel to be five+ inches in diameter (310 calories). When you think about the increase in terms of a single breakfast, it really makes a lot of sense. The bagels are twice the size and that means not only are we consuming twice the amount of bagel – but also twice the amount of toppings.
The future of our health
So what does all of this mean for us? It’s unlikely that the food industry is going to simply cut back their prices and make more appropriate size choices. The good news is that there is an increased awareness throughout America that we need to hop on the healthy lifestyle train. Many states have passed laws that require larger chains to display calorie counts for customers. Kids are even choosing healthier options as well. According to an article by takepart, kids are making healthier food choices and Happy Meal sales are down.Instead, families are opting for healthier fast food options.
Research has shown that obesity rates are stabilizing for most Americans, but still remain higher than ever. A new bill was passed by the USDA in September which supports local and organic farmers to the tune of $52 million in grants. This means more money to support farmers markets, and healthy foods. Things are looking up! But awareness is essential. We’ve got to stay educated and motivated on the track to a healthier lifestyle.
