Supersize It

The recent uproar over the super sized servings at food chains in New York made me take a long look at the world around us.

Back when the Golden Arches were a new concept, their claim to fame was their monstrous burger with two patties, special sauce and a bun.  It was the burger that the guys ate on dates, while we girls ate the smaller ones.  Now it's considered a small burger.  It can hardly hold a candle to a recent addition that has hamburger patties, shredded barbecue and french fries ---all on a bun!!

Think back to the cokes we drank in our youth.  The little "souvenir" bottles you see in the grocery were the actual size of the first cokes.  They were 8 oz bottles.  Then RC cola came out with a 12 oz. bottle and everyone soon followed.  Before we knew it, soft drinks were coming in 16 oz. bottles.  Now you can get a 32 oz. refillable cup!!  Not only do we get a whalloping big cup of a soft drink, we now think it is the thing to drink for every meal and in between.  We've come a long way from the cokes we saved our pennies to buy as the occasional treat!

The fact that everything is getting bigger was really brought home to me the other day.  I finally decided that after forty-something years it was time to replace the beat up muffin tins that I used.  I picked up a new set and wondered why I had waited so long to replace them.  The first time I made the cornbread recipe I had used for years I knew...the recipe that had made 12 muffins for years now made 9.  Yep, the muffin cups were way bigger than the old ones.  That means cupcakes, muffins, rolls, are all going to be bigger servings than they once were. 

It's not just cupcakes that are bigger.  Look at any of the foods that we usually eat and buy.  TV dinners, formerly the epitome of small servings, now have big portions for our bigger appetites.  Everything from hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks, desserts, even main dish entrees are much bigger now.  I am especially amazed at the desserts that come in serving sizes that you can share with the whole table! 

The problem is compounded by the fact that we all are eating out more and more.  Where once we ate three meals at home with mom preparing them, now we eat in restaurants once or twice a day.  Our schedules tend to cause us to use fast food, prepackaged food and restaurants instead of preparing meals at home.  Why is this important?  One, when we eat out we order more because we are hungry--then we feel like we need to eat it.  At home if you are still hungry you can have seconds but you don't have to.  Two, most fast food is higher in calories and fats than the ones fixed at home.  Three, mom prepared meals tend to be lower in cost, servings, and higher in nutrition than those in restaurants.

Is it any surprise that we are all getting "super sized" too?   Not only are we getting bigger, but we are getting "fat" diseases more and more.  Type II diabetes was once as rare as it's cousin Juvenile diabetes.  Now it's the common disease associated with aging, especially among those who have years of fast food behind them.  The thing that is really frightening is that we are now seeing this disease show up more and more frequently in elementary children.  Something that was virtually unheard of even 20 years ago.  The incidence of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes are also on the rise.  Again thanks to our poor eating habits.

Look around at your neighbors, children, strangers in the Mall--what do you see?  It's an epidemic folks and the only ones who can stop it are the ones making poor eating choices -- US.