Lack Of Cooking Abilities Contributing To Obesity
Tiani Jones
Reporting
(CBS 11 News) DALLAS Cooking shows are all the rage right now, but many people are actually cooking challenged.
According to a Betty Crocker survey, 70 percent of participants think they have above average cooking knowledge. But only 38 percent scored high when quizzed. Some believe that lack of skill could be contributing to Americans getting fat.
"Once we add those sauces we're going to turn it back down," said the chef in a recent Sur La Table cooking class. "Use your hands get in there rub the marinade in don't be shy," he directed.
Some say it's an art, others a skill.
20 years ago it was just an everyday chore.
Dr. Priscilla Conners, a University of North Texas Professor and Dietician, said, "Many more mothers are working outside of the home, many more families are relying on eating outside of the home to meet their daily nutritional needs."
And the result, said Dr. Connors, is that we're getting bigger. "When we don't prepare foods at home we're not familiar with basic units of measurement and we lack a basis to judge what we're getting."
Like how many servings are in the plate of food you're about to eat?
"We look at it and say 'well a serving is what's in front of me,' and what's in front of you may be more then what you actually need to meet your caloric needs for the day," according to Dr. Connors.
So what exactly is a serving, one cup or a half a cup? If you said a half a cup, you're right.
It's basic math that's just not used on a daily basis, but dietitians agree it needs to be.
Dietitians also offer these tips:
Become aware of portion sizes.
Buy a set of measuring cups, have them at home.
And use them! Measure how many servings of take out you're actually consuming.
Plenty of gadgets are available to help monitor everything from portion size to calories to fat content.
So while you may not be ready to dip into a gourmet class at Sur la Table, learning a little math is the perfect start to subtracting a few pounds.
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