Portion sizes for popular take-out restaurants, fast-food chains, and family restaurants were measured and compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, and to portion sizes in the past.
1. Excluding white bread all commonly available food portions exceeded USDA and FDA standards. The largest excesses occured in cookies (700% over USDA suggestion size); pasta (480%); and muffins (333%).
2. Portion sizes for foods such as hamburgers, french fries, and soda were two to five times larger in the study than they were in the past.
3. Portion sizes started to increase in the 1970's, grew dramatically in the 1980's, and currently continue to rise parallel to increases in average American body weight.
Posted by
Dr. Theriault