Portion sizes (rant)

[tygab]

I find it very disturbing that we modern humans are so disconnected from the food generation process, myself included, though I am attempting to relearn what I can.

We don't know how what we're eating will affect us, we don't know how to eat small portions, we don't know where our food comes from, we don't know what's in it and how it came to be, and we don't know how to pick/prepare healthy food even if such food is available to us.

>>Watching tv, on now, a commercial for a subway sandwich chain where the 'good' sandwich is piled with meat, and the 'bad' sandwich is mocked by supposedly unbiased random people as not having enough meat which surely wouldn't be what they choose. And the commentors are almost all big heavy guys.<<

Here's an interesting portion size analysis from a few years ago:

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftoct02.htm

I feel as though those of us who exercise and pay some attention to what we eat are not only in the minority, we are considered quite odd by those who do not!

an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are overweight

from the CDC health stats page.

This from CNN back in Sept:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/06....ap/index.html

Fernstrom, who was not involved in the study, said as portions have gotten larger, it has been harder for people to estimate what a standard portion should be. The amount people should eat seems puny compared to the mounds of food we have become used to seeing on our plates, she said.

"This is showing human foibles. It's hard to estimate food. And it's really hard to estimate huge portions," Fernstrom said.

Fernstrom suggests people eat smaller portions, use a smaller plate so the meal looks larger, and downsize -- not super-size --meals when they eat out.

I know, I'm talking to the wrong audience here... but this is a problem!