Size matters

When it comes to fast food, the first impression people have in their mind is of course that it is unhealthy and not good for your body, which is true, but costumers still buy and eat huge amounts of it every year. The logical impacts of this are certain diseases like heart problems and obesity. But why do we still continue to eat junk food?

Food portion sizes and a comparison between Europe and the United States

First of all, there is the question: Is it our fault when we get fat after having lunch at McDonalds, or eating your breakfast at Starbucks? Well, yes and no. Of course, we still decide whether we go to a fast food chain or to a usual restaurant, but there are some other impacts that cause an unhealthy lifestyle. And that is mostly due to the serving sizes at those big fast food chains.

More and more Americans and Europeans have lost their battle against obesity, and that’s because the Burgers and Sodas in front of them are getting bigger and bigger!

Especially in the US where about one third of the population is overweight, was and still is a significant increase of the serving sizes, which leads of course to a higher amount of calories per serving causing this obesity.

Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film.The film documents the drastic physical and psychological effects of eating Mc donalds food for a 30 day period.

Some interesting facts about the fast food market in the US:

In the last few years, Burger King, Hardee’s and Wendy’s (both popular fast food chains in the US, but not very known in Europe) all have introduced 1,000-calorie-plus sandwiches stuffed with 12 ounces (340 grams) of beef — the amount of meat recommended for two days for most adults. In addition, Hardee's just rolled out a new Country Breakfast Burrito containing 920 calories and 60 grams of fat, almost all the fat an adult needs in a single day.

There even is a parallel between rising rates of obesity and increasing portion sizes. Current fast-food servings are two to five times larger than they were in the 1950s. It's hard to believe the Big Mac was considered large when McDonald's introduced it 40 years ago. Today the Big Mac's roughly 3 ounces (about 85 grams) of meat are puny compared to the new mega-burgers from other fast food chains that offer easily a one-pound of pure meat burger.

However there is also one thing that has grown even more than the burgers in the last few years. The size of the sodas served at the fast food chains.

When McDonald’s first opened in the US, a standard soda was 7 ounces (about 200 ml). Today, a small is 16 ounces (450 ml), a medium is 21 ounces (620 ml) and the large 32 ounces (950 ml).

The fast-food giant recently introduced the Hugo, a 42 ounces (1,25 liter) drink and 410-calories. Last year Wendy's rolled out its own 42-ounce version and Burger King also promotes a 42-ounce King Size soda. 7-Eleven (an American supermarket chain) offers the 64-ounce (1,9 liter) Double Gulp soda — a half-gallon, nearly 800-calorie drink marketed for one person. In 2011, the world known coffee shop company Starbucks introduced the Trenta, a 31 ounces (900 ml) coffee drink only available in the US.

Quite frankly, when looking at those enormous amounts of liquid, we, as European costumers sometimes feel overwhelmed.

If we compare the serving sizes from the US with those here in Europe it is understandable why so many people in the US are overweight. Here in Europe, a small soda at McDonalds is “only” 250 ml, a medium 400 ml and a large is 500 ml. Compared to the US it is quite insane to see that our largest soda is their smallest.

The problem is people tend to eat or drink what's in front of them. We also significantly underestimate how many calories we consume. But even when consumers try to do right by their diets by choosing a small or medium of something at a fast-food chain, they may be getting more than they expect. Another important reason why Americans are bigger than we are, is the huge offer of fast food chains they have overseas. By looking at this top ten rating of the most popular fast food restaurants in the US, we can see that there are a lot of chains we don’t even know about. (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-most-popular-fast-food-restaurants-in-america.html)

Luckily, there are some attempts in the US to fight against this craziness about the soda sizes. In 2012, the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg banned the sales of beverages larger than 16 ounces (500 ml) in the entire state. Sadly, in March this year, this banning of the 32-ounce soda stopped and had a comeback.

The rule is designed to make consumption of large amounts of sugary drinks a conscious and informed choice by the consumer. Although a consumer is free to consume more than 16 ounces by ordering a second drink, getting a refill, or going to another store, he or she will be making an informed choice.