It is not a surprise that Americans suffer from portion distortion. What's shocking is exactly what 200 calories looks like on a plate compared to other foods.
The website Wisegeek conducted a study that took 71 different foods to see exactly what 200 calories looks like. Favorite foods like French fries, chips and candy were portioned in juxtaposition to fruits and vegetables. The 200-calorie servings of soda, milk and Baily's Irish Cream were also shown.
Some interesting foods displayed include fried bacon, ketchup, balsamic vinegar, hot dogs, peanut butter and the artificial sweetener Splenda.
Some of the foods are set on either a white plate that is 26cm in diameter or a white bowl that is 16cm in diameter. All photos were taken with a Nikon D70 digital camera and arranged from low to high caloric density.
"We could have chosen any amount of Calories for this project, but we wanted something that gave tangible volumes for the entire range of items," writes study author, L.S. Wynn. "We felt that 100 Calories of butter or oil would have yielded diminutive portion sizes; on the other hand 500 Calories of celery would have been virtually incomprehensible."
The photos show that you could eat a full plate of broccoli for 200 calories opposed to a small handful of Gummy Bears.
"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average adult needs to consume about 2000 - 2500 Calories to maintain their weight. In other words, you have a fixed amount of Calories to 'spend' each day; based on the following pictures, which would you eat?" asks Wynn.
Being mindful of calories does not mean your stomach has to starve. Instead of eating 75 grams (about half) of a Jack in the Box cheeseburger, you could eat 570 grams of baby carrots or 1425 grams of celery for the same 200 calories.
The photos can help put in perspective how many calories we are consuming and promote healthy food choices.
