Spring Break
Tricky with treats
Studies and experiments employ trickery to find out why United States is so fat
By: Andrew Martin — KRT Campus
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: Aggielife
Recognizing the importance of portion size, the federal government is reworking the serving-size section of the nutrition facts label on food packages to try to make it more useful to consumers. The current description of serving sizes is so confusing that consumers may be underestimating how much they are eating, the Federal Trade Commission said in a recent letter to the Food and Drug Administration, which had sought comment from other federal agencies on controlling obesity.
The FTC also questioned whether serving-size information on the food label was "sufficiently clear and prominent."
Some argue that the food industry should help by crafting smaller portions in supermarkets and in restaurants. But persuading food packagers to encourage less eating will be a tough sell, analysts say, because companies make more money if they sell more food.
Some nutritionists say the increase in portion size has fueled the obesity epidemic, but Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University, said it is difficult to prove that the increase in portion size causes obesity.
The focus on where and how people eat needs to continue, said Rolls, who has conducted research similar to Wansink's.
"I think it needs to be easier for people to eat healthier," she said. "It's too easy for us to eat huge portions of high-calorie food.
In Rolls' research, she offered men and women different sizes of submarine sandwiches over four days. When served a 12-inch sandwich as compared with a 6-inch sandwich, men ate 56 percent more than the men given a 6-inch sandwich while women served the longer sandwiches ate 31 percent more than their counterparts who received the shorter sandwiches.
Wansink said he believes portion size is a factor that contributes to obesity, along with such features of modern life as elevators and computer games that discourage exercise.
"In the obesity war, portion size is the first casualty," said Wansink. "It's easy to point at, and we don't have to take responsibility because we can blame the restaurant or the packaged food manufacturer."
The FTC also questioned whether serving-size information on the food label was "sufficiently clear and prominent."
Some argue that the food industry should help by crafting smaller portions in supermarkets and in restaurants. But persuading food packagers to encourage less eating will be a tough sell, analysts say, because companies make more money if they sell more food.
Some nutritionists say the increase in portion size has fueled the obesity epidemic, but Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University, said it is difficult to prove that the increase in portion size causes obesity.
The focus on where and how people eat needs to continue, said Rolls, who has conducted research similar to Wansink's.
"I think it needs to be easier for people to eat healthier," she said. "It's too easy for us to eat huge portions of high-calorie food.
In Rolls' research, she offered men and women different sizes of submarine sandwiches over four days. When served a 12-inch sandwich as compared with a 6-inch sandwich, men ate 56 percent more than the men given a 6-inch sandwich while women served the longer sandwiches ate 31 percent more than their counterparts who received the shorter sandwiches.
Wansink said he believes portion size is a factor that contributes to obesity, along with such features of modern life as elevators and computer games that discourage exercise.
"In the obesity war, portion size is the first casualty," said Wansink. "It's easy to point at, and we don't have to take responsibility because we can blame the restaurant or the packaged food manufacturer."
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