Why calorie counting is ridiculous

Probably people are also forgetting about the Swanson Frozen Dinners which hit the market around the 50s (at least they were shown on 50s TV shows so I assume they were common then). I would bet though if you looked at an original TV dinner and one today the portions would be rather different. Portion explosion to draw in value seekers has been a big part of this. If I can sell you a 40oz soda for $1 and the guy next door is only selling you a 20oz soda for the same price people are drawn toward the value. I am getting 20oz for free!! This has caused a market where bigger portions for the price is what sells. Rather than simply competing on price reductions, sell that 20oz for $.50. The margin is actually higher on the 40oz than on the 20oz in that case due to the real costs of materials, the soda itself is the cheapest part.

Between portions explosion, an ever increasing sedentary lifestyle, and increased added sugars increasing caloric density of food it is no wonder there is an obesity epidemic. But simply moving to whole foods isn't going to change that, people need to learn what a proper portion really looks like. They also need to get out more and move. When I was in elementary school we used to walk 2 miles to school and back each day, now the grocery which is 1 mile from my house I always drive to it.

Our biggest problem today isn't the food we eat it is how much of it we eat. Our lifestyles do not support the caloric intake we have. If you gave a farmer from the 20s the exact same meal that many obese people eat today, they would still be hungry and would be losing weight. You could say that industrialization is the largest factor in the obesity problem.