All you can eat buffets, never-ending pasta bowls, bottomless fries, supersized drinks.  No wonder that our waistlines have been expanding over the last few decades.  Part of the problem is we eat too much saturated fats and sugars and not enough nutrients.  But another part has to do with quantity.  Are our plates simply piled too high?
 
Let’s take a step back and look at the terms “serving size” and “portion”.  The two terms are not interchangeable.  A “serving size” is a guide to help you see how many calories and nutrients are in a specific quantity of that food, for example a cup of yogurt or a slice of bread.   A “portion” is how much food you choose to eat at one time, which may be more or less than a serving.   
 
Over the past few decades, portions have grown significantly.  Take bagels, for example: 20 years ago, most bagels were three inches in diameter and about 140 calories; today they have a six inch diameter and 350 calories. Eat one and you’ve consumed three servings of grains. We have become so desensitized to “big food” that it’s hard for us to recognize what a normal portion looks like.
 
Now that we’re so used to overdoing it, is it possible to bring portion sizes back to earth?  Here are some tips:  Use smaller plates, a sandwich can get lost on a dinner plate, but look huge on an appetizer plate.  Avoid taking the entire bag of chips or container of ice cream to the couch.  Dish out meals at the counter, not keeping food at arm’s length lessens the temptations for seconds.  Be aware most restaurant portions may be two, three or more times the recommended serving size, so consider sharing meals, ordering an appetizer as a main dish, packing up half to take home before you begin to eat or ordering the kid’s meal at a fast-food restaurant.  Don’t fall prey to the giant value meal or jumbo drink just because they are a few cents more than the regular size.  That “deal” is no deal when it triples your calories!

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancer types. Over 5 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, and the American Cancer Society predicts that more than 76,000 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in 2016.  Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, and one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.  Although skin cancer risk factors are present 365 days a year, the dangers are greater during the summer months when people typically spend more time outside in the sun swimming, playing softball or baseball, attending picnics, biking, golfing, mowing lawns, doing construction, and the like.  Here are some tips to help you be safer in the sun and reduce the risk of skin cancer:

• Stay in the shade, especially between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.
• Try not to get sun burnt.
• Avoid tanning beds.
• Cover up with clothing, including a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
• Use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day. For extended outdoor activity, use a water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.
• Apply two tablespoons of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside.Reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating.
• Pay particular attention to the face, back of neck, ears, hands and arms when applying sunscreen.
• Old bottles of sun screen should be thrown away because they lose their potency after a year or two so check the expiration dates.
• Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
• Examine your skin every month and see your physician or a dermatologist every year for a head-to-toe skin exam.

Take care of your skin today so that you do not get skin cancer tomorrow!

“We never wore seat belts growing up…we fought over who got to lie by the back window of the car…we piled into the back of the pickup…we stood between our parents in the front seat…and we survived.”  But not all of us survived, nor will all of our children and grandchildren. Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of death among children in the United States.   But many of these deaths can be prevented.  Buckling children in age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats, and seat belts reduces the risk of serious and fatal injuries.
The facts are in front of us.  Car seat use reduces the risk for death to infants by 71% and to toddlers by 54% in passenger vehicles.  Booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4–8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.  For older children and adults, seat belt use reduces the risk for death and serious injury by approximately half.
For the best possible protection, infants and children should be buckled in a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat, until age 2 or when they reach the upper weight or height limits of their particular seat.  When they outgrow their rear-facing seats they should be buckled in a forward-facing car seat, in the back seat, until at least age 5 or when they reach the upper weight or height limit of their particular seat.
Once children outgrow their forward-facing seat, they should be buckled in a belt positioning booster seat until seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck).
Child restraint systems are often used incorrectly. An estimated 46% of car and booster seats (59% of car seats and 20% of booster seats) are misused in a way that could reduce their effectiveness.  Install and use car seats and booster seats according to the manufacturer’s manual.
Buckle children in car seats, booster seats, or seat belts on every trip, no matter how short.  Restraint use among young children often depends upon the driver’s seat belt use. Almost 40% of children riding with unbelted drivers were themselves unrestrained.  Set a good example by always using a seat belt yourself.  Let’s change, “We never wore seat belts…” to “Who would think of getting in a vehicle without buckling up?”