It's no surprise North Americans are getting more overweight and obese. Some will point to sugar as the culprit. Others cite inactivity as the problem. While both of these could play roles in our expanding waist lines there's no denying we're eating larger portions than in previous years. So why does this happen? Why are we eating larger portions? A review of the research identifies two reasons (1). The first is that we seek value for food. We look get more in return for our financial investment. Think of many times people opt to super-size a combo meal at a fast food restaurant. It's not that the portion of fries and drink that normally accompanies a meal is insufficient. It's more of a case that for a nominal increase in price you get substantially more food. You'd be stupid not to, right? There's no denying portion sizes have increased over the years. The other reason that we are eating larger portions is due to portion distortion. We have been exposed to such large portions of food that we have been conditioned to recognize these as normal. In the marketplace we are offered portions that are 3-4 times what a standard portion should be. But the public perception is that is these amplified portions are the standard. No one bats an eye when we are over served. If we were to go the other way and were served a standard portion, one at 1/3 to 1/4 normal market offerings, we'd cry foul and the restaurateur would hear about it. Another study looked at how the size and freshness affected how much popcorn we eat (2). What they found when given a small versus a large tub of stale popcorn, subjects ate 34% more when they had a large tub. Even though the...

This morning I gave a presentation to  group of business leaders. And at the end I fielded questions from the attendees. And as is usually the case many of the questions had to do with nutrition.One individual in particular asked for some help with portion control.He said 'I eat fairly healthy, I just eat too much'. What should I do?This is not an uncommon problem many people face. They eat more than they know they should but find it hard to break the habit. And the answer to this guy's problem is not to start weighing and measuring all his meals. Because although there are some people that will take the time and effort to do this, most will not.And I want to provide solutions that will help the most people. I want to provide solutions that are easiest for most people to incorporate into their lives. And I want to provide solutions that don't require an additional investment in time and money.I know that's asking a lot but if we can find a solution that satisfies all of these conditions than we probably have something that will be easy to get started on and continue with.Curious what the tip was?It was to use smaller serving plates.[caption id="attachment_4862" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Portion control can be as simple as a smaller plate. And the reason is most people don't weigh and measure their food. Most people don't count their calories. And many people grew up in an era to finish everything on their plate.So does this work?Yes, it does. And it reminds me of a research study (I'll dig up the citation for anyone that wants it) where a group of people were divided in half. The entire group was going to watch a movie and eat popcorn. Half of the group were given a small cup...