Portion Sizes

In this piece from 20/20, John Stossel interviews people about portions and serving sizes compares to label information.  Many of the food labels do appear somewhat skewed in how their items are labeled – such as the pickle saying a servings size is ¾ of a spear.  I’m not generally a fan of more governmental regulation; however, this does seem to be an area where the manufacturers of processed food items are misleading the public.  Maybe there should be regulation along the lines of “a portion size can be no less than one whole part of the item as presented”.  In other words, if you are going to make a serving size of pickle spears, the portion size can be no less than one spear.  Or, for the muffin, a portion size can be no less than the one muffin.  That would leave the onerous on the manufacturers to either present the whole information about the whole muffin, or make smaller muffins.

On the other hand, stupidity on the part of the buying public as to the portion size or calorie count cannot be blamed on the manufacturers.  Maybe people are confused about portion sizes, but it actually seems that many people do not really care about calories or portion sizes.  They just want to eat what they want in the amount they want.  Then, they are surprised when they gain weight or can’t fit in their clothes.

The free market system cannot be blamed for the stupidity of its purchasers.  The companies make what sells.  The buyers determine the supply and demand of the items available.  If people weren’t buying, then they wouldn’t be selling.

Having been through massive weight loss – over 90 pounds due to lap band surgery – I can attest to the difference between what we *think* is a portion size versus what really is a portion size for a normally sized person.  As one woman in the video said, “how small is that person?”  Well, really the size of the person should not matter for the portion.  A person wouldn’t be “oversized” if his or her portions aren’t oversized.

But, some blame also needs to be placed on the overprocessed convenience foods of our generation.  If a person eats grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, and brown rice, maybe the portion sizes become more obvious than when chowing down on some pizza or muffins.

Education is the key to clearing up the confusion about what to eat and how much of it.  But, there’s so many disagreements about what the best information is that it creates difficulty in agreeing on what information is given out.  Can we all agree to eat a high-GI diet?  Or are there some “experts” that maintain a low-carb diet is “it”?  Can we agree that muffins are bad for breakfast and oatmeal is better?  Of course not.  So, the misinformation continues and it is up to the consumer to listen to all the viewpoints and determine for himself or herself what is best.

What do you think?