The Obesity Epidemic: Are Bigger Portion Sizes Really Better? Essay
The Obesity Epidemic: Are Bigger Portion Sizes Really Better? Essay
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attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes and, ultimately, premature death. Outside of the human costs, health experts estimate that treating adult obesity-related ailments will cost the American economy
nearly $250 billion by 2020.”
― Jeff Schweitzer, Calorie Wars: Fat, Fact and Fiction A bagel and coffee for breakfast, a bowl of microwaveable soup for a quick lunch, and two scoops of spaghetti for dinner seems like a day of normal meals to many. However, the normalcy of consuming this amount of food is the problem. Many do not know that all of these dishes mentioned are actually two times the size of what is suggested to be eaten by the Food and Drug Administration's Food Labeling Guide. We are continually seeing products available that encourage these larger sizes, such as larger plates, supersized meals, and bigger cooking pans ("Portion Distortion: Serving Sizes Are Growing"). The popularity of these greater portions has led the indulgences to become habits of our society, which causes not only our portions to increase, but also our waistbands. The incorporation of these larger portion sizes into the norms of our society is a result of the public's ignorance on the issue. Therefore, I propose a policy to correct this problem, which would reverse the ignorance by implementing an educational program on the topic. It would provide the knowledge necessary to all regarding which proper portion sizes to choose and how many servings of each food group are suggested in order to maintain a healthy diet and in turn, body and lifestyle. By teaching this at a young ...
... middle of paper ...
...pr.
2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2010.
"Portion Distortion: Serving Sizes Are Growing." Healthy Living. Meals Matter,
2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2010.
"States to Establish Nationwide Standards for Students, Teachers." USAToday.com.
Gannett Co. Inc. The Associated Press, 2 June 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.
Young, Lisa R. and Marion Nestle."The Contribution of Expanding Portion Size to
the U.S. Obesity Epidemic." American Journal of Public Health 92.2 (2002):
246-49. Research and Practice. Young and Nestle, Feb 2002. Web. 15 Sept. 2010.
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