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Nutrition

Portion Control

Portion Control
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.08

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    assistance, cholesterol, modern-day, tremendous, difficulty, diabetes, overall, depression, entire, knowing, overeat, gain, nutrient, indicate, interesting, health

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Portion Control
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     The last few decades have produced expanding waistlines of kids and adults. It's hard to watch the news or read a newspaper without some kind of commentary about it. Too much sugar, too much fat, too much junk food - you've probably heard it all. Of course, these have something to do with the problem. What about portion size though? Is there simply too much on our plates?
 
2     In the 1980s, portion sizes began to skyrocket. For example, twenty years ago a bagel was 140 calories and three inches in diameter. Two decades later, a typical bagel is 350 calories and six inches in diameter. Just that modern-day bagel would equal half of the grains a person is supposed to eat the entire day.
 
3     Research shows that many people have difficulty recognizing a normal portion as a result of all these large portions. Take a look around at what people are eating. What does the typical muffin look like? How much pasta comes on that pasta bowl in the restaurant? What is the portion of that super-sized fries at the fast food chain like? Did you know that automakers even had to start making larger cup holders? Can you finish a 20-ounce cup of soda in one sitting? It makes you think, doesn't it? Overall, portion sizes are larger than before.

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