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One of the main reasons for the nation’s expanding waistlines is simple: we eat too much and big portions are to blame. JO WATERS explains how to take back control of your plate – and your weight

IF YOUR belly is getting bigger despite sticking to the same diet there could be a hidden saboteur at work. Yes, we’re talking that old enemy: portion creep. This phenomenon, whereby the amounts we habitually eat become larger and soon appear to be standard, can dramatically increase our calorie intake which translates into increased belly fat.

Yet it somehow falls under our weight-watching radar. No wonder we’re often baffled as to why our waistbands are getting tighter.

“These days, increasing numbers of us are eating out and buying our lunches from cafes and supermarkets,” says nutritionist Amanda Ursell.

“We’re constantly being provided with larger meal sizes and heftier portions in processed foods such as biscuits and crisps. The upshot is we’ve all gradually been getting used to eating larger amounts.

“We all remember eating fairy cakes, now we have huge Americanstyle muffins with four times the calories, sugar and fat, as well as monster choc-chip cookies.”

A 2013 report by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) revealed widespread confusion among consumers about portion sizes.

It highlighted a tendency to eat larger amounts and to overestimate the quantity we should be eating.

It also revealed dramatic increases in manufacturers’ pack sizes between 1993 and 2013. For instance, a sharing pack of ready salted crisps increased in size by 50 per cent, from 100g in 1993 to 150g in 2013. Individual chicken pieces were 40 per cent bigger than in 1993 and a ready meal of frozen chicken curry and rice was five per cent bigger and contained 420 more calories than the 1993 version. Even the humble crumpet has been super-sized, being 20 per cent bigger in 2013 than 20 years previously. This insidious portion inflation can have a big impact on our waistlines. The BHF calculated that eating a daily 84g (2013 size) bagel rather a 70g version (1993 size) could add about 19,500 calories a year to our intake and lead to a 5.5lb weight gain.

AREVIEW by the Food Standards Agency found white bread slices had also increased in size and there’s now a larger selection of premium/luxury biscuits which are bigger and higher in calories than ever before.

Priya Tew of the British Dietetic Association (BDA) says that when people are shown the size of a recommended portion of carbohydrates they are often surprised how small it is.

“It’s so easy to overeat that I i p b w i y