Portion Sizes

[jasy]

putting the strain on the countries health service.

]

The thing putting the strain on is Labour not ready meals [/quote]

 

[AdamW]

Women strain during labour, I believe.

Also when a woman is in labour, a strainer would be just the thing to drain the baby as she pops it out. Kinda like boiled potatoes. But there would be only one of them. And you cook it in a uterus instead of a saucepan. And instead of water you use amniotic fluid. So not much like potatoes, but I still think the strainer could come in handy.

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

This seems to confirm what i was saying earlier it's not the small size of portions it's the fact that we expect more and it's this excessive calorie intake that has made the population so obese, along with all the complications associated with it now such as heart disease and diabetes which amongst others is putting the strain on the countries health service.
What is needed urgently is a remedy to this.

Good point, Kendor...agree 100%. I lived in US for several years, some of the time in Texas - this really is Planet Lardarse! I remember on a couple of occasions visiting barbeques where the average weight of the guests was around 20 stone....and rising.....and that was just the toddlers! The last bits not true actually, sorry, I got carried away. The problem is that food is so cheap and abundant out there that it is seriously beginning to have a devastating effect on the nation's health. I don't the find Brits to be hugely pre-occupied with diet related issues - not say like other parts of Europe - but substantially more so the Yanks. Nevertheless, there seems to be marked increases in diabetes (note Adam'a mate), asthma and other ailments that may not be life threatening per se but certainly will mitigate against the very quality of life over the longer term. A lot of this must be down to self-discipline on behalf of the individual. A doctor friend of mine reckons much of the NHS is collapsing under the weight...sorry, wrong choice of words...buckling under the strain of patients who require treatment for conditions that they have developed through long term self-neglect.

I am not in anyway trying to absolve the government here from their duty to provide a good, responsive health service. But clearly genuinely ill patients like Masona are placed in a log jam; the only answer to which is to seek private remedy - quite unreasonable!

Just one thing. As much as I would discourage anyone from smoking, it is a truism that smokers do contribute to the national coffers more than they reap in service from the NHS, 'cos they generally don't live long enough to finish their treatment!

By the way, Masona, hope you enjoy a very full recovery!

 

[securespark]

Or a small Simon (sorry mate, couldn't resist )

Quite agree, mate!!

I often end up buying a party-size gateau for pudding after my sandwiches, mistaking it for an individual one!

Well, portion sizes do seem tiny, unless as you say, you are a mouse, in which case they are too big.

However, if I did stick to eating what a "normal" person eats, I wouldn't be 19 stone....Bat Fastard!!

 

[kendor]

Agree with you about the food Chainsaw, just like to add that not only is food cheap in the US but the portions are massive along with very unhealthy combinations, Waffles and maple syrup on the same plate as eggs bacon etc springs to mind .
Which leads back to portion size, the restaurants out there need to cut back on portion size for one and look at healthy content aswell.
Mind you with private medical in abundance there I wonder if they are worried little about health and more about wealth?
Thank god we have the NHS here and more governmental awareness of what is needed in the way of food and health education.
The government just need to raise the profile even more on the issue.

 

[AdamW]

I think an all-out binge once in a while is no bad thing, it is when you find you are eating massive portions all the time.

For instance, the Pizza Hut buffet. I used to find that 10 slices was the absolute maximum I could eat there, and I would be in pain for the rest of the day. But during a period of a few months when my friends started arranging frequent trips I found that 10 slices was easily done, and I once managed 19. Yes, 19 slices of pizza. I have reigned back on such things since 6 months ago, I could have easily become a full-on fatty.

If you eat too much all the time your stomach expands so you need to eat more to feel satiated.

 

[kendor]

I think an all-out binge once in a while is no bad thing, it is when you find you are eating massive portions all the time.

For instance, the Pizza Hut buffet. I used to find that 10 slices was the absolute maximum I could eat there, and I would be in pain for the rest of the day. But during a period of a few months when my friends started arranging frequent trips I found that 10 slices was easily done, and I once managed 19. Yes, 19 slices of pizza. I have reigned back on such things since 6 months ago, I could have easily become a full-on fatty.

If you eat too much all the time your stomach expands so you need to eat more to feel satiated.

Exactly which is why the "small" portions seem that way.
If we can kick the vicious circle into touch then we might have a fighting chance, so i'm not against the portions offered.
One point that crops up is that affluent societies seem to suffer the lifestyle diseases more than others, does this suggest we are too well off?
whilst others not so fortunate scramble to get barely enough food to survive on if successful. Sobering thought?

 

[securespark]

a strainer would be just the thing to drain the baby as she pops it out.

Not quite, but we used a plastic colander to fish blood, gunk and other body constituents out of the birthing pool.

It came in handy later as a temporary storage device for the placenta. We didn't fry and eat it, but the cat gave it a hopeful lick.

 

[AdamW]

We didn't fry and eat it, but the cat gave it a hopeful lick.

That bit cracked me up!

 

[pipme]

Whatever next ! Subjects 'Sex with strangers' next to 'Portion sizes' Tut,tut, tut !