Preventing and Treating Obesity through Portion Control

Imagine being a 12-year old child forced to take an underwhelming packed lunch to school everyday until you suddenly switch schools and are faced with a buffet line of endless pizza, pasta, fries, cookies, brownies, juices, and more. Would you have stopped at just 1 serving of your favorite foods, or made the healthy choice of eating from the salad bar a mere few feet away? Neither would I. This was my reality when I started the 5th grade at a school where I would eat up to 3 servings of these high calorie unhealthy foods daily until I left after the 10th grade, which resulted in me transitioning from a healthy preteen to an obese teenager. 

Reflecting on my nutrition during the six years I spent at this school, I now recognize that while I struggled with making healthy choices and staying physically active, the majority of my weight gain resulted from a lack of portion control. Managing portion sizes is a crucial factor in the prevention and treatment of obesity, a growing epidemic that leads towards numerous chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Portion control can aid in weight loss and maintenance, because it increases mindfulness of the food choices made and the feeling of fullness, and allows the consumer to enjoy their favorite foods through reasonable serving sizes.

A news article on healthline lists helpful tips to measure and control portion sizes:

• Eat on smaller dinnerware

  • Perception of portion sizes are altered by the size, shape, and color of the dinnerware used

  • A portion of food may look too small on a larger plate, leading to increased portions and overeating

• Use your plate as a measurement tool

  • Measure the food groups on your plate using this guide:

    • Half a plate of vegetables/fruits

    • Quarter plate of carbs

    • Quarter plate of protein

    • A small portion in the center of healthy fats

  • This rough guide to portion sizes aids in balanced eating and weight loss

Half plate of vegetables/fruits, quarter plate of carbs, quarter plate of protein

• Use your hands for measuring serving sizes

  • If there are no adequate measuring tools around, hands can be used as a rough guide:

    • Protein: palm-sized serving for women and two palm-sized portions for men

    • Vegetables or fruit: one cupped-hand portion

    • Carbs: fist-sized portion for women and two fist-sized portions for men

    • Healthy fats: one thumb-sized portion for women and two for men

• Order half portions of outside food

  • Restaurant portion sizes are larger than recommended and have been increasing over the years

  • Asking for a decreased portion or sharing with another person can help stick to appropriate portion sizes

• Drink water before eating

  • Drinking water starting 30 minutes before a meal can increase satiety and prevent overeating

  • Some health benefits include decreased bodyweight, blood sugar levels, and bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels

• Eat slowly

  • Eating food slowly increases awareness of the amount of food being eaten and feelings of fullness, therefore, decreasing overeating; it does this through suppressing ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and elevating leptin, the fullness hormone

  • It takes roughly 20 minutes for the brain to register fullness

  • Eating quickly may be associated with increased bodyweight, triglyceride levels, and blood pressure, and decreased good cholesterol 

• Never eat from the container

  • Pour a serving size of food out of the packaging or container and eat from that instead

  • Eating straight from the packaging or container provides a lack of awareness of portion sizes, leading to overeating

• Know a few common serving sizes

  • Food labels contain the appropriate serving sizes, but sometimes having a few memorized can help stick to them

  • A few rough examples (some variation depending on the specific item):

    • Cooked pasta or rice: 1/2 cup

    • Vegetables: 1–2 cups

    • Cereal: 1 cup

    • Cooked beans: 1/2 cup

    • Nut butter: 2 tablespoons

    • Cooked meats: 3 ounces

Food labels contain serving sizes at the top

• Keep a food diary

  • Jotting down all food and drink consumed increases awareness of serving sizes and food choices made, leading towards healthier choices and mindful eating

  • Food diaries are linked to increased weight loss

Portion control plays a crucial role in weight loss and obesity. It increases mindful eating and decreases overeating, aiding in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Any of the above tips listed by healthline can help control and measure portion sizes without compromising on the enjoyment of the food. What do you think?

If you would like to discuss this concept more at length or anything else on your mind, feel free to sign up for a Health Coaching session with me!

References:

1. Brown, M. (2014). 9 Tips to Measure and Control Portion Sizes. healthline, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/portion-control#takeaway