Why do we still eat so poorly?

Drive down most highways in North Jersey, and you’re guaranteed to come across one of two things: a curbside fast food restaurant trying to lure motorists into its drive-thru with promises of salt-, sugar-, and fat-laden goodness, or a big metal sign advertising that such a place lies just off the next exit.

Their food is awful for us — we all know this — but many of us pull in anyway.

Take a lunch made up of an offering from McDonald’s dollar menu, such as the McDouble. That burger has 380 calories, 17 grams of fat, 34 grams of carbohydrates, and 840 milligrams of sodium. Add a "medium" order of fries for another 340 calories, 16 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbohydrates, and 190 milligrams of sodium, and a large Coke at 280 calories and 76 grams of carbohydrates, and you’ve got a meal packing a whopping 1,000 calories, 33 grams of fat (10.5 grams of which is saturated), 154 grams of carbohydrates, and 1,030 milligrams of sodium. That’s 58 percent of the recommended daily fat intake, 51 percent of carbs, 43 percent of sodium and about half of our recommended daily intake of calories, all in one heart-clogging, gut-busting meal.

And what’s the reward? Feelings of guilt and a waistline that never shrinks: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 70 percent of American adults now qualify as overweight, and of those, 35 percent are considered obese.

So why do we keep eating this way?

The problem, said Dr. Diego Coira, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), begins with one of the medical field’s favorite culprits: stress. When we’re under physical or emotional stress — not uncommon for our fast-paced lives — the body releases cortisol, a hormone that causes our appetite to increase (even if we ate a short time ago) and causes "stress eating." And the combination of salt, sugar, and fat that’s found in many of the worst foods is, unfortunately, psychologically and physically comforting, even if it’s unhealthy.

"They’re called ‘comfort foods’ because they help when you’re stressed — they calm you down, the brain releases endorphins and dopamine after you eat them, and you’re good," Coira said

And there’s more: Many of us don’t even know how much we’re consuming. Menus in most restaurants don’t have calorie or carbohydrate counts, and over time, those counts have risen as portion sizes have increased. The size of a bagel, for example, has doubled from 3 inches in diameter to 6 over the past 20 years, said Katie Day, clinical dietitian at HUMC at Pascack Valley, adding 200 calories to the breakfast meal.

Burgers are bigger, fries are more numerous, and we don’t feel like we’re getting a good "bang for our buck" unless we’re inundated with victuals. That line of thinking has allowed meals’ caloric values to wander into the realm of the ridiculous.

One example is the Cheesecake Factory’s "Brulee French Toast," which was recently awarded an "Xtreme Eating" award by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Served at brunch and topped with powdered sugar and maple-butter syrup, it packs a heart-attack-inducing 2,780 calories, 93 grams of saturated fat, 2,230 milligrams of sodium, and 24 teaspoons of sugar. To burn that off, you’d have to run 21 miles.


Dealing with temptation

Even a regular steak dinner, said Chesney Blue, a registered dietitian for the Green Hill Senior Living community in West Orange, is probably twice as large as it should be: Instead of the 3 to 4 ounces that’s recommended, most restaurants give patrons at least 6 or 8.

So what can we do?

"If you know you’re going on a long trip, take stuff with you: granola bars, unsalted nuts, baby carrots, cheese cubes, etc.," Day advised. "That way, if you’re tempted, you at least have something there."

If stopping is an absolute necessity, order grilled or baked food over fried things, include a salad, and drink water instead of soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages that are typically standard fare.

At restaurants, practice portion control to avoid overeating, which two-thirds of Americans admit to doing.

"Your hand is a very good tool — if the amount of meat doesn’t fit in the palm of your hand, it may be too much for you," said Blue.

Day also suggested sharing an entrée, or having the waiter wrap up half of the plate before it’s even brought to the table.

Coira, however, said that going to dinner with friends may actually help us eat less: Not only does that sort of socialization alleviate stress, it forces us to do more talking than chewing. This slower pace means that our brain, which doesn’t register us as "full" until 20 minutes after we begin eating, has more time to figure out that the body doesn’t really need that rich, sugar-laden dessert.

But no matter how large the portion is, Coira said the most helpful thing we can do for ourselves is focus on the actual act of eating.

"Be mindful," he said.

"Smell the food, look at the colors, taste it, and take your time. That’s when you experience pleasure with a meal."

Email: janoski@northjersey.com

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