Portion Distortion Web Site: Learn How to Avoid Holiday
Weight Gain by Watching
Portion Sizes
During the holiday season, when gatherings and even shopping
trips are often centered on food, weight gain can seem unavoidable.
But watching portion sizes
can help prevent those extra pounds.
New additions to the “Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz” section
of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Web Site show
the difference in size and calories between portions offered 20 years ago and
what is often a standard serving today.
“
This site not only teaches people how portion sizes have changed and calories
have increased, but also the amount of physical activity one has to do to burn
up those extra calories,” said Karen Donato, S.M., R.D., coordinator of
NHLBI’s Obesity Education Initiative.
For instance, you can still enjoy holiday cookies, as long as
you know the calories they contain. Today, some cookies provide
220 more calories
than
those that were
offered 20 years ago. After snacking on today’s bigger cookie,
you would need to wash your car for over an hour to burn off those
extra calories.
And watch for those foods that may seem healthier for you. For
instance, even a chicken Caesar salad can pack on the calories.
One offered 20
years ago typically
contained 390 calories, compared to more than 700 in those served
today. You would have to walk your dog for over an hour to burn
those calories
off.
Since its debut over two years ago, the site has been a popular
way to get people to think about their food portions and the calories
they contain.
This newer
version includes more common foods and beverages like a slice of
pizza, coffee
and muffins. These are items that many people eat everyday without
thinking of the number of calories that are in them. A mocha coffee
typically
contains 350
calories and a large muffin has 500, so be prepared to take at
least
a two-hour hike to walk off your breakfast.
“
We hope that people will apply what they have learned about the portion sizes
of foods eaten regularly to those special holiday dishes,” said
Donato.
The new Portion Distortion Web Site also now contains tools
that
can be downloaded to help health educators and dietitians use this
information
with their clients:
PowerPoint slides for each illustration, and a serving size card
that shows appropriate serving sizes and can be used as a quick
reference tool.
The Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz is part of the “Aim for a Healthy
Weight” program offered by the NHLBI’s Obesity Education
Initiative.
The NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative was established
in 1991
to help reduce the prevalence of overweight, obesity and physical
inactivity
in order to
lower the risk of developing and dying from heart disease and other
conditions.
The quiz can be accessed at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/portion/.
To interview Karen Donato, contact the NHLBI Communications Office
at 301-496-4236.
NHLBI press releases, fact sheets and other materials
are available online (at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov).
Additional information on NHLBI’s Obesity Education Initiative,
including a BMI calculator, is available online (at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/).
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