Serving Sizes of Food Will Lead You Astray

Most people nowadays know how to eat more healthily.

If you were offered two plates of food – one containing a burger and fries and the other a healthy combination of fresh, tasty vegetables, it would be easy to pick out the one that was healthier.

But if you’re at all like me, your actual food choices often fall short of your knowledge base.

Why is that?

One simple explanation is that we’re self-indulgent, and always opt for what feels better in the short run, never the long run.

That’s true enough.  But the inner psychology of the situation is far more complex.

There’s a whole science devoted to understanding why people behave the way they do.  Marketing companies make extensive use of this research to discover ever-more subtle ways to cue you into buying their products.

But you too can make use of this research to understand your own behavior and institute beneficial changes in your lifestyle.

Start by checking out the December, 2010 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, as reported in Science Daily.

The research showed that labeling a serving size as small, medium or large made a difference in how much someone ate.  When offered identical-sized servings of a food, people routinely ate more if the serving was labeled small as compared to the amount they ate when the serving was labeled large.

That’s why you have to have a clear idea yourself of what constitutes a normal serving size and the amount of food you need to satisfy your appetite.

Otherwise, you’ll be at the mercy of food marketers.

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Deepen Your Body of Knowledge

More on portion distortion

Donna Fish’s article on how you can prevent eating disorders

“My eating was out of control!”

The Suppers Program – support system for healthy eating