My Life is Vital™ - Stop Supersizing Your Kids’ Meals

Stop Supersizing Your Kids’ Meals

Vital Healthcare Group

When America went to supersizing meals, it was the same year the obesity epidemic began. At first, it was thought that supersizing came from creative marketing by fast food restaurants hoping to sell more food.

However, some researchers looked into foods such as hamburgers, burritos, tacos, French fries, sodas, ice cream, pie, cookies and salty snacks and found that between the 1970s and the 1990s, the portion sizes increased—whether people ate these foods at home—or at fast food restaurants.

Now think about your favorite fast food hamburger. Is it a single, double or triple? The U.S. Department of Agriculture counts two to three ounces of cooked lean meat as one serving and most fast food hamburgers are much bigger than that. The extra ounces mean extra calories—and extra pounds.

What’s a serving size?

A cup of fruit should be no larger than your fist
One ounce of meat or cheese is about the same as the size of your thumb from base to tip to base
Three ounces of meat, fish or poultry (a normal serving) is about the size of your palm
One to two ounces of nuts equals your cupped hand

Helpful tips to shrink serving sizes

Serve your meal on salad plates and pack away the large dinner plates
Store snack foods in tiny sandwich bags so you are sure you’re eating no more than one portion
When ordering out, share your entrée with your guest
Ask for a kid’s meal or small size—not the super size portion
Fill up on fresh green salads, whole fruits with the skin, and colorful vegetables instead of high fat foods, breads, pasta, and desserts

Diet and Weight Loss Center

Stop Supersizing Your Kids’ Meals

What’s a serving size?

Helpful tips to shrink serving sizes