Did you realise that portion sizes of many ready meals have increased over the last 25 years? In fact, a study by the British Heart Foundation found that the size of a ready made pizza had grown by almost 50 per cent and an individual pie by 40 per cent in a twenty year period. So does that mean that a single recommended ‘portion’ should now also be up to 50 per cent bigger? Or could this be why we have an obesity problem in this country?
Larger portion sizes have become the norm and have encouraged us to eat more, even if we don’t realise it. A bigger portion size is what we’ve come to expect. But it is what we need? The number of people who are now obese in the UK – with all of the health problems that go with it – would suggest that we don’t need these bigger portions!
All the evidence suggests that many of us are simply eating too much, encouraged by the growth in ‘portion’ sizes. Portion distortion has taken over our eating habits. This is backed up by the fact that nearly two-thirds of UK adults are overweight or obese, along with one in three children. But why does portion size matter? Simply put, portion size equals calories. If our understanding of what portion size we need is distorted – then so is our understanding of the calories we need versus what we’re actually consuming.
The British Heart Foundation research ‘Portion Distortion – How Much are we Really Eating?’ compared portion sizes from 1993 with those in 2013 and found a clear trend towards an increased portion size, although some products showed a decrease – including single packets of crisps and bars of chocolate. The research concluded that we need more consistency in portion sizes and food labelling to help us all make better choices to eat a balanced diet.
In the meantime, we can all take responsibility for what we eat by being familiar with a healthy, recommended calorie intake, recognising what a healthy diet looks like and looking carefully at nutrition information on food packaging. Is that pizza really meant just for one person? Or, if you read more carefully, is it actually two portions? And are we eating when we’re actually hungry – or do we reach for food when we’re bored, stressed or emotional?
Making changes to when and what we eat and looking at portion sizes gradually can help set us on the right path to a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight. Take a look at our top tips and see what you could change:
- Reduce portion sizes slowly, going from one size straight to another can be a drastic change, so make changes slowly.
- Think about the plates that you use, bigger plates are easy to put more onto, if the food looks the right portion on the plate we are more likely to eat it.
- Bulk meals out with grains and vegetables as these are lower in energy but high in nutrients - as well as being healthy they will also fill you up
- Think about how hungry you are – try starting with a smaller portion and have seconds if you’re still hungry.
If you’d like support to lead a healthier lifestyle, we can help you with online healthy lifestyles programmes, support and advice – call 0300 555 4152 or email the team at [email protected].