Think about the two together, and it presents another possible cause for why more kids are overweight. How do fast food restaurants fit into the food pyramid?
It is actually hard to know. Although fast food restaurants do provide a lot of information about the number of calories, fat grams and other nutritional details, it does not present them as 'servings' on the food pyramid.
So how many servings are in a typical kids meal at a fast food restaurant?
First, lets review how many servings from each food group your child needs (remember that most older kids should get in the middle to upper range of the suggested servings):
- 6-11 Grain Group Servings
- 3-5 Vegetable Group Servings
- 2-4 Fruit Group Servings
- 2-3 Milk Group Servings
- 5-7 ounces from the Meat Group
That would get you:
- a Hamburger roll - 2 servings from the Bread Group
- a beef patty - 1 serving from the Meat Group
- one slice of American cheese - 1 serving from the Milk Group
- french fries - 1 serving from the Vegetable Group
Now you have:
- a Hamburger roll - 2 servings from the Bread Group
- 2 1/4 pound beef patties (8 ounces) - 3 servings from the Meat Group
- two slices of American cheese - 2 servings from the Milk Group
- supersize french fries - 3-4 serving from the Vegetable Group with 610 calories and 29g of fat (not a good way to eat your veggies!)
Hopefully your child will not eat a supersized fast food meal each day, but this example helps illustrate how many people overestimate how much they are eating and eat portions that are too large.
How can this help you? Mainly it can help you by thinking in terms of serving sizes and not just portions. Remember that a serving is not how much you can eat at one meal. So if you go to a restaurant and eat a half pound cheeseburger or 10 or 16 ounce steak, you are already eating more than the 5-7 ounces that the Food Pyramid recommends each day.
It can also help to follow the American Institute for Cancer Research recommendation that 'at least two-thirds of our plate should be made up of plant foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans)' and that 'the key to balance and portion control may be to first serve a substantial portion of vegetables and fruit – maybe double their usual amount – and then serve other foods in smaller-than-usual portions. To satisfy hunger for several hours, we need protein in a meal (from meat, dairy or plant sources like beans), but there’s no reason to make it the star.'
Adding information about the number of servings from the Food Pyramid that meals have when you eat out would also be a big help to parents trying to plan a healthy diet for their children.
