Jan. 21, 2003 -- Doesn't matter if you "supersize" it or not. T
Jan. 21, 2003 -- Doesn't matter if you "supersize" it or not. The size of burgers, fries, soft drinks, and Mexican food is getting bigger -- right along with the average waistline.
A new study is the first to document this trend that we've all noticed, writes lead researcher Barry M. Popkin, PhD, an epidemiologist with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His study appears in the current issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association..
"Between 1977 and 1996, food portion sizes increased both inside and outside the home for all categories except pizza," he writes. Hamburgers got bigger by 1.3 ounces, french fries by half an ounce, Mexican food by 1.7 ounces, and soft drinks by 6.8 ounces. Only pizzas were cut in smaller slices, he adds.
Fast-food restaurants were serving the biggest portions -- topped only by takeout and other meals eaten at home.
It's no wonder so many people are fat, Popkin points out. Eating just a few extra calories every day -- and not burning them off -- adds up to an extra pounds of weight at the end of the year.
He concludes that although the exact contribution of portion size to the increase in overweight and obesity cannot be determined, the prevalence of adult obesity has increased from15% to 30% from 1971-1999. "These findings suggest that the public requires better education about the control of portion sizes both inside and outside the home."
