NYU professors found a direct connection between a rise in food portion sizes and overweight adults and children.

In a report published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, Marion Nestle and Lisa Young, professors of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, described increases in food portions. They also offered suggestions to manage the issue in today’s society.

“I was motivated to write this paper because portion sizes have continued to increase despite public health initiatives,” Young said.

They found that, from 2000 to 2009, 147 large-sized portions were instituted, including candy bars, beverages, burritos, hamburgers and pizza. Many of these larger portions were served in fast food,
family-style and carry-out restaurants.

In an article published in October by the Huffington Post, Young blames the accessibility of larger portion sizes and foods with higher calories as part of obesity.

“The trend toward larger portions coincides with the availability of calories in the U.S. food supply and the rising prevalence of obesity,” she wrote in the article.

The paper details four calls to action. First, it recommends education and public health campaigns aimed at individuals. It also argues for clearly defining serving size standards and incentivizing smaller portions by providing price breaks. Finally, the paper calls for caps on portion sizes.

Examples of these include Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s size limit initiative on
sweetened beverages.

“We need to do more to encourage [the] food industry to sell smaller portions, and to encourage consumers to buy smaller portions,” Young said. “Health professionals should also be involved.”

Even though registered dietician Kelly Paneitz said the findings were not groundbreaking, she said they might help the general public.

Paneitz said the smaller-portion price incentive is an interesting tactic.

“I think that the focus has been more directed towards the value of what people perceive for their dollar, so it will be really interesting if a smaller portion campaign could actually be implemented and what the public’s perception of that would be,” Paneitz said.

Portion sizes also affect college students, many of whom are on a meal plan or are eating in dining halls.

Alyx Steadman, a freshman in the Silver School of Social Work, said certain dining halls like the Kimmel Center Market Place and Palladium dining hall give healthy portion sizes, but that this also depends on the students’ order. However, Steadman said portion size is a problem in the NYU dining system.

“I feel like the [size of the] plates are too big in most dining halls,” Steadman said. “You feel almost obligated to load it up, otherwise you don’t get your money’s worth. In some ways I wish I had more control over what I eat.”

Nestle and Young said an environment that promotes excessive food intake while underplaying the importance of physical activity contributes to the obesity epidemic.

Paneitz agreed. She said there is not enough focus on exercise and balance.

“I think a lot of people put too much focus on ‘What am I eating? How much am I eating? What quality of food am I eating?,’ but if they just went out and exercised more they would feel better, and they wouldn’t want to eat as much. It’s kind of a vicious pattern we get into,” Paneitz said.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Nov. 8 print edition. Emily Bell is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].