NEWARK, N.J. - Along with the American waistline, the American plate and portion size have grown too. A study at Rutgers University supports earlier research that people today eat bigger servings than they did 20 years ago.

A food worker serves a plate of sauteed shrimp and roasted potatoes at lunch in the Busch campus faculty and staff dining hall at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. Nov. 30, 2006. [AP]

"People aren't realizing how much they are eating," said Jaime Schwartz, a registered dietitian and one of the authors of the study. "The larger portion size they're eating - even if it's a healthy food - is still more calories."

The research, done in 2003 and described in a recent issue of the American Dietetic Association, replicated a 1984 Penn State University study.

Both studies asked students to take food portions of various items. Diners were offered three sizes of plates, bowls and cups in a buffet-like setting. There were 177 students in the more recent study at Rutgers and 147 students in the 1984 Penn State study.

In a comparison of breakfast servings, the students in 2003 took 20 per cent more cornflakes than students took in 1984, Schwartz said. Ditto for milk.

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