Size matters

Muscle & Fitness, Sept, 2007 by Tabatha Elliott

"Bigger is better" may be the motto most bodybuilders live by, but when it comes to serving size and its influence on how much food you eat, the opposite holds true. There's a definite connection between obesity in the United States and the serving sizes that many eateries, especially fast-food and chain restaurants, provide.

Like pigs and other animals, we tend to eat what's put in front of us; this may be due to an evolutionary development from times when food supply was scarce and one had to eat as much as possible since there was no telling when the next meal would come. But we're lucky enough to live in a society where food can be provided in huge servings at multiple mealtimes each day, and it's very easy to overeat and get fat as a result.

One study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that serving size even influenced the overeating of stale food. Researchers from Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) gave 158 moviegoers a medium (about 11 cups) or large (about 22 cups) container of free popcorn that was either fresh or stale (14 days old). After the movie was over the researchers measured how much popcorn was consumed, as well as the moviegoers' perceived taste of the popcorn. Those given fresh popcorn rated it as good-tasting and ate more than 45% more popcorn when it was provided in the large container. That may be no big surprise, but even when the moviegoers who were given stale popcorn rated it as bad-tasting, they still ate almost 35% more popcorn when given the large container. Researchers concluded that even when foods aren't palatable, providing them in large packages and containers can lead to overeating.

The take-home message is to be aware of how serving size affects the amount of food you tend to eat. Since bodybuilders generally prepare most of their meals themselves, it's easy to control portion size. When dieting, be particularly mindful of the serving size of carbs such as pasta, rice and bread. You can also serve vegetable dishes in large portions to encourage yourself to eat more of these low-calorie and phytonutrient-rich foods. When you're in a mass-gaining phase, you can use large portion sizes to encourage yourself to eat more, particularly protein-dense foods such as chicken, fish and beef.

BY TABATHA ELLIOTT, PHD