It's not just that kids are eating too much fatty foods these days. It's that they're eating too much food, period.

A study at Rutgers University supports earlier research that people today eat bigger servings than they did 20 years ago.

"People aren't realizing how much they are eating," said Jaime Schwartz, a registered dietitian and one of the authors of the study. "The larger portion size they're eating _ even if it's a healthy food _ is still more calories."

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EXAMPLES

— In a comparison of breakfast servings, the students in 2003 took 20 percent more cornflakes and milk than students took in 1984.

— The glass of orange juice grew by more than 40 percent compared to 20 years ago. That translates into 50 additional calories, or a weight gain of five pounds over the course of a year, if consumed on a daily basis.

— Dinner and lunch servings grew, too — 50 percent more fruit salad wound up on the plates of the Rutgers students.

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HE SAID IT

"People are eating with their eyes and not their stomachs," Schwartz said. "They're not listening to their bodies to tell them when to put the fork down."

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