The FDA and Your Dinner Plate

Two years ago, Time asked me to write one half of a short point-counterpoint on the obesity debate for a special issue of the magazine entirely devoted to how government should intervene to prevent the fattening of America.

My job was to defend the notion of personal responsibility (my meager 350 words were the only such defense the entire issue). I remember squabbling with one of the magazine's editors over one contention I made in the article -- that it was only a matter of time before public health activists and the federal government would attempt to regulate the portion sizes of food served in restaurants. Seemed like a logical prediction of where things were headed. The editor accused me of hyperbole, and nixed the prediction from the piece.

Last week, this story hit the wires:

Those heaping portions at restaurants -- and doggie bags for the leftovers -- may be a thing of the past, if health officials get their way.

The government is trying to enlist the nation's eateries in the fight against obesity.

The report, funded by the Food and Drug Administration, lays out ways to help people manage their intake of calories from the growing number of meals prepared away from home, including at the nation's nearly 900,000 restaurants and other establishments that serve food. One of the first things on the list: cutting portion sizes.

"We must take a serious look at the impact these foods are having on our waistlines," said Penelope Royall, director of the health promotion office at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The recommendations are voluntary.

For now.