Do you feel a need to clean your plate when you sit down to a meal? It is strange how the compulsion prevails among many American families to eat every last morsel of food sometimes in spite of what a full stomach might be saying to the body. Is it possible that this is a contributing factor to obesity in America? Is it necessary to finish every last bite?

Why People Clean their Plates
There are a variety of reasons that people feel compelled to finish their food. It seems in almost every household there is someone who dutifully declares that there are starving people in some country of the world who would gladly eat our food, and for some reason that it supposed to convince us that whatever remains on our plates should rightfully end up in our bellies…full or not. There are some people who clean their plates to honor the cook, as it would seem an insult to leave food behind. There are those who sit down to meals with big appetites—scooping mounds of food onto their plates with every intention of eating it all, but then falling victim to fullness. These are the eaters who finish their food out of a sense of obligation after having served it out. There are also those who clean their plates, because they would rather eat beyond their hunger than waste food by throwing it away.

Confusing Nutrition Information
Some of these reasons for cleaning plates make more sense than others, but is the concept pushing us toward obesity? The answer is that it depends on the portions taken and upon what the body is saying. While the United States has had USDA serving information and dietary guidelines in place for many years, there are still a lot of people who just want to eat rather than measure their food. The information is there for those who utilize it, but the truth remains that some people don’t want to get technical about their food…they just want to eat it. No matter how simple the system has been made, it is still confusing enough that most people don’t use it, and that is certainly a frustrating part of why America has a weight problem.

Worrisome Statistics
According to data from the National Health and Nutrition survey, which was completed between 2007 and 2008, 68 percent of the adult American population was found to be either overweight or obese. In the United States, over two-thirds of the adult population is lager than it should be for whatever reason. According to a CDC study, “From 1980 through 2008, obesity rates for adults have doubled and rates for children have tripled.” These figures compel us to consider what we can do to decrease our weight. Many of us are overweight, in part, because we are overeating. While other steps are important like getting regular exercise, and becoming more familiar with appropriate portion sizes of food to take at each meal, it may also be time to consider scrapping the old tradition of cleaning our plates. We need to listen when our bodies are telling us that we are full.

Consider Scrapping the Tradition
While we have not yet managed to find a simple solution to America’s weight problem, perhaps a start can take place at the dinner table, on our plates. Let us listen to our bodies when they say we are full, and stop eating, rather than finishing every bite. We can stop pushing guilt on our children to finish every scrap of food just because “there are hungry people in the world.” We don’t have to waste the food, but instead we can store it as leftovers for the following day. The only excuse remaining is that we are afraid of insulting the cook, but if we save the extra food to eat at a later time, even that can likely be forgiven.

It’s time for us to eat smarter as a nation, and to control our compulsive impulses. We need to learn to serve appropriate portions. We can learn to accept that there is still some food on our plates when we are feeling full. May we all find the courage to eat smarter, slower, and with doggie bags on hand. Let us consider health as our primary concern when we think about cleaning our plates.

Related Reading:

Obesity: Getting Active for Family Health: Learn about how to modify the lifestyle of your family to maintain better health and counter obesity.

Making Fruits and Vegetables Fun to Eat: 10 ways to get kids to eat healthy.

5 Reasons Why Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day: Five good reasons to slow your family down in the morning to take a few minutes for nutrition.

References:

Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity, Accessed 11/12/2010
http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm

Obesity, Accessed 11/12/2010
http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/obesity.htm

Handy serving size guide, Accessed11/12/2010
http://getfitlab.com/50/handy-serving-size-guide/