This gallery explains why millions of Americans are obese…

I'm an American living in Sweden, and I've noticed at the grocery store that small muffins are labeled "muffins" and big muffins are labeled "American muffins". I find this funny!

Fast food portions here are considerably smaller and more expensive than in the US. Fast food is considered an occasional treat, not a daily convenience.

Without commenting on the accuracy of the original post, I will say that subconsciously restaurant meals had skewed my idea of how much a "portion" really is. When cooking for others, I knew I had little to no idea of how much food I actually needed to make and, of course, always made more because too much is better than not enough, right? However, it had never occurred to me that because of this, I was actually an overeater because I only identified binging with overeating and I am not a binger. So I def. think that in general, there is a lot of validity to Americans being inured to a typical fast food or restaurant meal as being a true portion size.

The problem with the gallery is it doesn't actually show what it claims to show. The portion sizes 20 years ago are the same as they are today. In many cases portion sizes 20 years ago were BIGGER than they are today.

It based completely on 100% false information.

Why do you say this? Where do you get your data? I do admit this diagram is perhaps getting a bit dated and that restraint serving sizes probably started creeping up even a bit before the 90s, but I don't remember super sizing, stuffed crust pizza or all you can eat breadsticks from my early adulthood.

McDonald's launched supersize fries and drinks in 1993. Even before that, they still sold 16, 21, and 32 oz sodas, just like today. They sold quarter pounders and double quarter pounders, just like today. Wendy's still sold their 3/4 pound triple 20 years ago. A local Italian restaurant my mom took me too sold Caesar salads in bowls the size of hubcaps (yes, 20 years ago.)

None of these things are new. In fact, most portion sizes have decreased over the last 5 years or so.

Like I said the gallery is getting a bit dated, but super sizing in 1993 is consistent with the 20 year claim. I want proof of the 32 oz sodas because I frequented Mcdonalds most of my life and they were never present in my region of the country until around the 90s. The closest thing in the 80's or 90's was the 7-11 big gulp. I also know for a fact that McDonalds and other fast food chains actually scaled up the drink sizes themselves in the 90s so that the old medium became the small, the old large became the medium and the old extra large became the large. They sold quarter pounders for sure but those are not an especially high calorie item. Double quarters maybe. The real point is that while you may be able to identify some large food items from the past, they were the exceptions. The restaurant with hubcap size salad bowls was special because it was unusual, that says nothing of average serving sizes available to you in restaurants in your region. If you want to really push the argument you could say that paleo humans often ate mammoths, but that is hardly support that mammoth size portions were the norm or should be the normal for us on a daily basis. Likewise, I agree some serving sizes have started to creep back down due In large part to stronger nutrition labeling laws and public attention in just the last few years, but like I said, the gallery is getting a bit outdated.

It's 2013. The 90s was 20 years ago. I also frequented McDonald's as a teenager in the 90s, as it was on my way home from school, along with 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts. I stopped in one of those 3 places every day. I got large drinks all the time. They were 32oz. The only thing that's changed is that McDonald's now uses plastic cups instead of the paper cups they used then.

Actually it looks like those pictures were from 2003 and 2004. So really they're showing how portion sizes changed from 1983-84 to 2003-04.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/portion/index.htm

The problem with the gallery is it doesn't actually show what it claims to show. The portion sizes 20 years ago are the same as they are today. In many cases portion sizes 20 years ago were BIGGER than they are today.

It based completely on 100% false information.

Why do you say this? Where do you get your data? I do admit this diagram is perhaps getting a bit dated and that restraint serving sizes probably started creeping up even a bit before the 90s, but I don't remember super sizing, stuffed crust pizza or all you can eat breadsticks from my early adulthood.

McDonald's launched supersize fries and drinks in 1993. Even before that, they still sold 16, 21, and 32 oz sodas, just like today. They sold quarter pounders and double quarter pounders, just like today. Wendy's still sold their 3/4 pound triple 20 years ago. A local Italian restaurant my mom took me too sold Caesar salads in bowls the size of hubcaps (yes, 20 years ago.)

None of these things are new. In fact, most portion sizes have decreased over the last 5 years or so.

Like I said the gallery is getting a bit dated, but super sizing in 1993 is consistent with the 20 year claim. I want proof of the 32 oz sodas because I frequented Mcdonalds most of my life and they were never present in my region of the country until around the 90s. The closest thing in the 80's or 90's was the 7-11 big gulp. I also know for a fact that McDonalds and other fast food chains actually scaled up the drink sizes themselves in the 90s so that the old medium became the small, the old large became the medium and the old extra large became the large. They sold quarter pounders for sure but those are not an especially high calorie item. Double quarters maybe. The real point is that while you may be able to identify some large food items from the past, they were the exceptions. The restaurant with hubcap size salad bowls was special because it was unusual, that says nothing of average serving sizes available to you in restaurants in your region. If you want to really push the argument you could say that paleo humans often ate mammoths, but that is hardly support that mammoth size portions were the norm or should be the normal for us on a daily basis. Likewise, I agree some serving sizes have started to creep back down due In large part to stronger nutrition labeling laws and public attention in just the last few years, but like I said, the gallery is getting a bit outdated.

It's 2013. The 90s was 20 years ago. I also frequented McDonald's as a teenager in the 90s, as it was on my way home from school, along with 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts. I stopped in one of those 3 places every day. I got large drinks all the time. They were 32oz. The only thing that's changed is that McDonald's now uses plastic cups instead of the paper cups they used then.

Actually, 1993 was 20 years ago and most of the 1990s were less than that, and as I said, the gallery is now outdated. This gallery has been floating around since about 2004 when the ducumentary 'super size me' came out. Hence one could argue that the time window was more mid-80's. You are right that some types of serving sizes have been drifting down over the last few years, and that for some of your favorite items 32 oz larges were available by the mid 1990's, but that actually supports the gallery since the mid 1990s is in the approximate 20 year window. What you are absolutely wrong about is the silly statement that The only thing that changed is McDonalds switched to plastic cups. This is one of the best documented serving size transitions out there and even McDonalds doesn't argue it, they just say it's what people want. If you look at the largest drink sizes available at McDonalds restaurants it was 7oz in the mid 1950s, it moved up to 16oz in the 1960s, it climbed to 21 oz in the 1970s, it made a big leap to 32 oz in the early 1990s and then peaked at 42oz in the late 1990s. It shifted back down to 32 oz in recent years. This isn't about what you think you saw in 1990s, it's recorded history. Even the big gulp jumped increased from an original 32oz to a massive 64 oz in the 1990s. Just go look up the data. Also, you are still confusing an ability to find examples of large food in the past with the real issue made by the gallery, that larger portion sizes are now no longer rare but the norm.

The problem with the gallery is it doesn't actually show what it claims to show. The portion sizes 20 years ago are the same as they are today. In many cases portion sizes 20 years ago were BIGGER than they are today.

It based completely on 100% false information.

Why do you say this? Where do you get your data? I do admit this diagram is perhaps getting a bit dated and that restraint serving sizes probably started creeping up even a bit before the 90s, but I don't remember super sizing, stuffed crust pizza or all you can eat breadsticks from my early adulthood.

McDonald's launched supersize fries and drinks in 1993. Even before that, they still sold 16, 21, and 32 oz sodas, just like today. They sold quarter pounders and double quarter pounders, just like today. Wendy's still sold their 3/4 pound triple 20 years ago. A local Italian restaurant my mom took me too sold Caesar salads in bowls the size of hubcaps (yes, 20 years ago.)

None of these things are new. In fact, most portion sizes have decreased over the last 5 years or so.

Like I said the gallery is getting a bit dated, but super sizing in 1993 is consistent with the 20 year claim. I want proof of the 32 oz sodas because I frequented Mcdonalds most of my life and they were never present in my region of the country until around the 90s. The closest thing in the 80's or 90's was the 7-11 big gulp. I also know for a fact that McDonalds and other fast food chains actually scaled up the drink sizes themselves in the 90s so that the old medium became the small, the old large became the medium and the old extra large became the large. They sold quarter pounders for sure but those are not an especially high calorie item. Double quarters maybe. The real point is that while you may be able to identify some large food items from the past, they were the exceptions. The restaurant with hubcap size salad bowls was special because it was unusual, that says nothing of average serving sizes available to you in restaurants in your region. If you want to really push the argument you could say that paleo humans often ate mammoths, but that is hardly support that mammoth size portions were the norm or should be the normal for us on a daily basis. Likewise, I agree some serving sizes have started to creep back down due In large part to stronger nutrition labeling laws and public attention in just the last few years, but like I said, the gallery is getting a bit outdated.

It's 2013. The 90s was 20 years ago. I also frequented McDonald's as a teenager in the 90s, as it was on my way home from school, along with 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts. I stopped in one of those 3 places every day. I got large drinks all the time. They were 32oz. The only thing that's changed is that McDonald's now uses plastic cups instead of the paper cups they used then.

Actually, 1993 was 20 years ago and most of the 1990s were less than that, and as I said, the gallery is now outdated. This gallery has been floating around since about 2004 when the ducumentary 'super size me' came out. Hence one could argue that the time window was more mid-80's. You are right that some types of serving sizes have been drifting down over the last few years, and that for some of your favorite items 32 oz larges were available by the mid 1990's, but that actually supports the gallery since the mid 1990s is in the approximate 20 year window. What you are absolutely wrong about is the silly statement that The only thing that changed is McDonalds switched to plastic cups. This is one of the best documented serving size transitions out there and even McDonalds doesn't argue it, they just say it's what people want. If you look at the largest drink sizes available at McDonalds restaurants it was 7oz in the mid 1950s, it moved up to 16oz in the 1960s, it climbed to 21 oz in the 1970s, it made a big leap to 32 oz in the early 1990s and then peaked at 42oz in the late 1990s. It shifted back down to 32 oz in recent years. This isn't about what you think you saw in 1990s, it's recorded history. Even the big gulp jumped increased from an original 32oz to a massive 64 oz in the 1990s. Just go look up the data. Also, you are still confusing an ability to find examples of large food in the past with the real issue made by the gallery, that larger portion sizes are now no longer rare but the norm.

I have looked up the data. I was also a manager for McDonald's for several years. I'm very familiar with the product history. 42 oz drinks came out in 1988 as a limited time thing. They became a part of the menu as a "super size" drink in 1993. Nowhere near "the late 90s." They were phased out in 2004. Wendy's introduced their 42 oz drink in 1995.

I think your memory is not as good as you think it is.

And large portion sizes are an option, not the norm. I can still very easily find all the smaller portion sizes that are shown on that poster, pretty much anywhere.

Honestly, era shifts are the cause. Has nothing to do with serving sizes, imo. It is all about what is available to people now as compared to back in the 70s and how society is now compared to then. The fact that parents didn't have to worry so much about their kids taking a day to bike across town, or go fishing on their own in the woods. And the fact that school sports were actually competative and pushed children to be in shape to make a team and stuff. Honestly, I think it is just humans trying to catch up with the new advances that are available. Our species is often slow when it comes to huge era jumps, which can cause issues such as this.

The problem with the gallery is it doesn't actually show what it claims to show. The portion sizes 20 years ago are the same as they are today. In many cases portion sizes 20 years ago were BIGGER than they are today.

It based completely on 100% false information.

Why do you say this? Where do you get your data? I do admit this diagram is perhaps getting a bit dated and that restraint serving sizes probably started creeping up even a bit before the 90s, but I don't remember super sizing, stuffed crust pizza or all you can eat breadsticks from my early adulthood.

McDonald's launched supersize fries and drinks in 1993. Even before that, they still sold 16, 21, and 32 oz sodas, just like today. They sold quarter pounders and double quarter pounders, just like today. Wendy's still sold their 3/4 pound triple 20 years ago. A local Italian restaurant my mom took me too sold Caesar salads in bowls the size of hubcaps (yes, 20 years ago.)

None of these things are new. In fact, most portion sizes have decreased over the last 5 years or so.

Like I said the gallery is getting a bit dated, but super sizing in 1993 is consistent with the 20 year claim. I want proof of the 32 oz sodas because I frequented Mcdonalds most of my life and they were never present in my region of the country until around the 90s. The closest thing in the 80's or 90's was the 7-11 big gulp. I also know for a fact that McDonalds and other fast food chains actually scaled up the drink sizes themselves in the 90s so that the old medium became the small, the old large became the medium and the old extra large became the large. They sold quarter pounders for sure but those are not an especially high calorie item. Double quarters maybe. The real point is that while you may be able to identify some large food items from the past, they were the exceptions. The restaurant with hubcap size salad bowls was special because it was unusual, that says nothing of average serving sizes available to you in restaurants in your region. If you want to really push the argument you could say that paleo humans often ate mammoths, but that is hardly support that mammoth size portions were the norm or should be the normal for us on a daily basis. Likewise, I agree some serving sizes have started to creep back down due In large part to stronger nutrition labeling laws and public attention in just the last few years, but like I said, the gallery is getting a bit outdated.

It's 2013. The 90s was 20 years ago. I also frequented McDonald's as a teenager in the 90s, as it was on my way home from school, along with 7-11 and Dunkin' Donuts. I stopped in one of those 3 places every day. I got large drinks all the time. They were 32oz. The only thing that's changed is that McDonald's now uses plastic cups instead of the paper cups they used then.

Actually, 1993 was 20 years ago and most of the 1990s were less than that, and as I said, the gallery is now outdated. This gallery has been floating around since about 2004 when the ducumentary 'super size me' came out. Hence one could argue that the time window was more mid-80's. You are right that some types of serving sizes have been drifting down over the last few years, and that for some of your favorite items 32 oz larges were available by the mid 1990's, but that actually supports the gallery since the mid 1990s is in the approximate 20 year window. What you are absolutely wrong about is the silly statement that The only thing that changed is McDonalds switched to plastic cups. This is one of the best documented serving size transitions out there and even McDonalds doesn't argue it, they just say it's what people want. If you look at the largest drink sizes available at McDonalds restaurants it was 7oz in the mid 1950s, it moved up to 16oz in the 1960s, it climbed to 21 oz in the 1970s, it made a big leap to 32 oz in the early 1990s and then peaked at 42oz in the late 1990s. It shifted back down to 32 oz in recent years. This isn't about what you think you saw in 1990s, it's recorded history. Even the big gulp jumped increased from an original 32oz to a massive 64 oz in the 1990s. Just go look up the data. Also, you are still confusing an ability to find examples of large food in the past with the real issue made by the gallery, that larger portion sizes are now no longer rare but the norm.

I have looked up the data. I was also a manager for McDonald's for several years. I'm very familiar with the product history. 42 oz drinks came out in 1988 as a limited time thing. They became a part of the menu as a "super size" drink in 1993. Nowhere near "the late 90s." They were phased out in 2004. Wendy's introduced their 42 oz drink in 1995.

I think your memory is not as good as you think it is.

And large portion sizes are an option, not the norm. I can still very easily find all the smaller portion sizes that are shown on that poster, pretty much anywhere.

I'm not using my memory on this, I am using published time lines. We must just be looking at different data. But with your past role as a McDonald's manager I have a bit better idea why you might be so defensive of the pattern.

For what it's worth, Google says McDonalds started supersizing in 1994 and dropped it in 2004. I was a teenager in the 90s; from what I remember, there was a lot more junk and a lot fewer healthy options in the 90s -- e.g., fast food salads 20 years ago were truly disgusting. We have things like Double Downs at KFC and cheese-stuffed crusts at Domino's now, sure, but I suspect people in 1993 were less likely to specifically seek out healthy options on a regular basis.

The comparison in the slides still has some value, but I doubt "20 years ago" is accurate for the smaller sizes -- probably more like 30/35 years ago.

Well, I can still order a smaller cheeseburger or french fry, and mini-bagels are still available. I was in my 20's 20 years ago, and I remember that Whoppers were just as big then as now. Soda sizes have changed though, order a large soda a fast food place now and they hand you a bucket!

I know that on average, restaurant portions have increased in size, but most still have the small versions available, its just that the larger ones are ordered more frequently.

We are fat because we eat too much and sit too much, in general...

I don't see any clean eating propaganda, it's an illustration of portion sizes.

fail. :laugh:

blurry pictures of food don't make people fat.

silly clean eating propaganda is silly.

QFT.

+1

I had 3 of these things today.

I'd be curious what the ingredients list for the whopper was then and now, and the big mac of course. And, of course, the sodas.... we know that in the U.S. anyway, the formulation changed in the mid 80s for many of them.

The ingredients may have changed. Of course if they were last reformulated in the 80s then 20 years ago (in 1993) they had already been reformulated. I wouldn't be at all surprised though to find out there are a lot more preservatives, and GMOs than there was 1993.

I don't see any clean eating propaganda, it's an illustration of portion sizes.

It's a self-serving subset of portion sizes selected from one era next to a self-serving subset of portion sizes selected from a different era.

It is deliberately misleading, and therefore it is by definition propaganda.

This. Both portion sizes shown could be ordered 20 years ago, and both portion sizes shown could be ordered today.

Plus the calorie counts are outrageously exaggerated. A 21 oz mocha coffee with cream (even higher calorie than milk) from Dunkin Donuts has about 250 calories. So I'm not sure where they get a 16 oz coffee for over 300 calories that uses milk.

2 slices of medium pepperoni pizza from Dominos is about 500 calories, not 800 or whatever it's listing.

Propaganda is using false information or twisting facts to influence people. This photo is the exact definition.

Anything that you eat, unless you are kidnapped or institutionalized, is your own responsibility.

I think that the increased portion phenomenon of the past 20 - 30 years is driven primarily by the increased industrialization of our food supply that resulted in the delegation of a lot of our food portioning to outside of the household, and by 2 big elements in America's culture: 1) our relentless pursuit of getting more for our money and 2) our aversion to wasting food. We want to get more for our money so we buy bigger portions – we hate to waste food, so we eat all of it.

We don't hate wasting food. 40% of all food produced is never eaten in the US and just gets thrown away. Surprising, considering 1 in 3 children do not get enough food every day. We have a problem that goes too deep to explain in a paragraph on a message board.