Super Sizing

The rise of obesity across the Western world is undeniable. Over the years the blame has shifted from fat to carbohydrate to sugar. But by pointing the finger at a single food group, we are missing the bigger picture. This is a lifestyle issue. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health takes a more considered view. Young and Nestle (2002) suggest that the escalating amount of food eaten outside the home is a concern. The most recent data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that restaurant and takeaway food account for 41% of all food expenditure (Lin and Guthrie, 2012). The problem is that the portions sizes are getting ridiculous. So in addition to making potentially poor food choices (nutritionally sparse, yet-calorie dense), we are simply eating too much. 

Allow me to illustrate the point. A typical restaurant serving of pasta exceeds USDA standards by 480% (Young and Nestle, 2002). I had to re-check that figure to ensure I’d read it correctly. Current portions “universally exceed” those offered in the past. This alarming trend began almost 50 years ago, rose sharply in the 1980s and has continued to increase ever since. Market competition has driven food companies to introduce larger and larger portions in order to boost profits. According to the World Health Organisation, calories per capita have increased by 493 per day since the 1960s (total calorie intake up 20%). That figure is projected to rise to 553 kcal/day over the next decade.

Remember, calorie balance is a two-part equation: how much you eat vs how much you move. A detailed paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that male gym attendance across England has crept up since the 1990s, whilst the increase has been more pronounced amongst the female population (up 0.4 and 2.7% respectively). Interestingly, social class, income, education and ethnicity all played a significant role in exercise participation (Stamatakis and Chaudhury, 2008). But unfortunately, we still spend far more time on the sofa than we do in the gym. In fact, the amount of TV the average American watches each day has steadily increased by 36-minutes every decade (Brownson et al., 2005). And this information predates the launch of Netflix by two-years! Calorie expenditure at work has also decreased significantly over the last generation. There has been a fall in manufacturing and agriculture, with a shift toward the service industry – trade, finance, education, leisure, etc. Conservative estimates put the calorie expenditure shortfall at between 100-142 kcal/day. Annually, that could amount to ~33,400 calories. If calorie intake otherwise remains the same, Church et al. (2011) calculate that over 30-years this shortfall in expenditure would result in 10.2kg of weight gain.

In conclusion, clients need to make a conscious effort to increase their leisure-time activity levels (both exercise and non-exercise activity), to counteract their sedentary professions. And whilst not all restaurant food is inherently bad, restraint must be exercised to avoid overeating. The majority of food should be prepared at home, where clients are in full control of ingredients, cooking methods and portion sizes.

Written by ACA Contributor Jason Jackson

Jason’s career began in 2008 when he joined an experienced personal training team at a Virgin Active health club in Northwest London. By 2012 Jason had become an accredited strength and conditioning coach, giving him the necessary credentials to work with professional athletes. Jason spent a season at Brentford Football Club, before a further two-years conducting research at the Saracens’ human performance lab.

In 2017 Jason became a Master of Science in sports nutrition. For his thesis, Jason spent two-years conducting a systematic review of over 100 testosterone studies. In addition to the well-documented physical effects on muscle mass and body fat, Jason examined testosterone’s significant influence on cognitive performance and well-being. Jason then integrated his findings into a unified strategy to successfully reverse the age-related decline in testosterone.

Jason is a registered nutritionist with SENr, the performance-orientated division of the British Dietetic Association. In his role as an educator, Jason delivers seminars on performance and wellbeing at corporate accounts across the City of London. Clients include All Saints, RBS and exclusive high-end members club The Ned. The number one trainer in Virgin Active’s 20-year history, Jason wrote the book (literally) on nutrition strategy for the company.

[reference]

REFERENCES

1. Brownson, R.C., Boehmer, T.K. and Luke, D.A., 2005. Declining rates of physical activity in the United States: what are the contributors?. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 26, pp.421-443.

2. Church, T.S., Thomas, D.M., Tudor-Locke, C., Katzmarzyk, P.T., Earnest, C.P., Rodarte, R.Q., Martin, C.K., Blair, S.N. and Bouchard, C., 2011. Trends over 5 decades in US occupation-related physical activity and their associations with obesity. PloS one, 6(5), p.e19657.

3. Lin, B.H. and Guthrie, J., 2012. Nutritional quality of food prepared at home and away from home. US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

4. Stamatakis, E. and Chaudhury, M., 2008. Temporal trends in adults\’ sports participation patterns in England between 1997 and 2006: the Health Survey for England. British journal of sports medicine.

5. Young, L.R. and Nestle, M., 2002. The contribution of expanding portion sizes to the US obesity epidemic. American journal of public health, 92(2), pp.246-249.
[/reference]