Serving Size Uncertainty

Posted by amy in News

Would making serving sizes larger on foods help or hurt the fight against obesity?

We tell people to pay attention to the nutrition info on foods, we are even making restaurants put them on their menus. Knowing what you are fueling yourself with is important. Aside from the usual numbers – calories, sodium, fiber – serving size is actually the most important info on that label. You look at the side of a cereal box and see 110 calories, that’s not bad, but then when you pour a bowl of that cereal, you unknowingly pour more than 2 servings! That’s where people who are diligent about looking at the numbers are still struggling.

What’s the best way to fix this problem? Is the answer as simple as making the serving sizes bigger?

My first thought was, yes, make the servings larger so I know that I’m eating 3 servings of cereal in my bowl, 2.5 soda servings in the bottle… you get the idea. However, the next concern is then that people will think its OK to eat that much of the food (even though they probably were anyway).

So what’s the answer, what’s the winner, what will help people become aware of their nutrition and allow them to take control?

Fit Link:

F.D.A Weighs Update to Standard Serving Sizes – NY Times

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