When I was a kid, health food was something parents gave their children when they hated them.
Raw, natural peanut butter was sawdust and oil mixed together and whole grains were what grew in a field. So far as I know, quinoa wasn’t even invented (please tell me you know I’m joking). In the 80s, the emphasis on a healthy diet just wasn’t there. And if you were one of the unfortunate seekers of health foods back then, you were a social outcast, less accepted by society than if you asked where the nearest heroin dealer was:
“You’re looking for a low-cal cookie? Why would you want to hurt yourself like that?”
I don’t remember if low-cal cookies were around then, but if they were, I would have rather sucked the minerals out of a rock than eaten health food in the 80s.
Even though it was only thirty years ago, we were still a meat-and-loaded-with-all-the-works-potatoes society, which is ironic, seeing that we were also a slimmer society…without all the scrumptious healthier options we have today.
So how is it possible that during the most food conscious thirty years of our country’s existence, have we also gotten heavier? It seems paradoxical, at best.
According to numerous studies, only 15% of Americans in 1980 were obese, by compared to the 34% in 2008 (a number that has stayed fairly consistent in the past eight years). And going back to 1960, the average man weighed 24lbs less than he does today.
These are dramatic numbers. And so are the numbers behind one of the reasons for this increase in weight.
Portion sizes.
Portion sizes have also risen respectively to weight, during the same period, dispelling any mystery as to our collective weight gain. The modern label for this paradox is called Portion Distortion.
Go back to the 1980s and the average restaurant-made hamburger was 333 calories. Today’s weigh in at an average of 590. That’s almost double. (Go back to the 50s, the average burger was 120 calories.) Here are a few more portion-size increases:
2 Pizza Slices, 500 – 850
Spaghetti with meatballs, 500 – 1025
Muffin, 210 – 500
Cookie, 55 – 275
The cookie is a good example of how the average portion size increased. In the 80s, the average chocolate chip cookie had a diameter of 1.5”. Today, it has a 3.5” diameter.
All these figures are based on restaurant-made or store-bought items, making it ever harder to make healthier choices when eating out. Every time you slide into a booth, it’s the story of David and Goliath retold (you’re David, the meal is Goliath).
Your slingshot, though, is your decision-making ability.
Of course, the easiest way to win this battle is to not eat out so often (and right now you can hear the screams of the Sun Day’s Dining Duo!). That, or time travel back to the 80s with your modern-day sensibility.
But if you find yourself having to eat out (or don’t have access to Doc Brown’s DeLorean), visit the website makinghealtheasier.org, where the CDC has a great guide for making healthy-eating choices called “The New (Ab) Normal.” It also has a pretty notable graphic, illustrating the increase in portion sizes that will once again make you sigh over the old adage that “ignorance is bliss.”
Some of our favorite recipes
Editor’s note:
I’m not a dietitian or nutritionist, but maintaining a healthy weight is something my wife and I take great care in. My wife and I strive to make healthy choices, continually adjusting our eating habits and searching for great-tasting foods that are healthy for you.
When I first sat down to write this column, I thought I was simply going to include a brief opener about everything above and slip right into a few recipes my wife and I make that will blow your mind with how low-calorie they are and how unhealthy they taste, but my fingers got away from me. Sometimes when I sit down to write, I’m the writer version of a binge eater and can’t help myself. I plunge right in.
Thus, I’ve run out of room. However, you’ll find links to some of our favorite recipes to the right. Make sure to check the portion sizes and calorie counts. You won’t be disappointed!
