McDonald’s has announced that they are phasing out “supersize” fries and drinks… they claim it’s part of their plan to “simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a balanced lifestyle.”
It is to laugh.
As I wrote earlier, the McDonald’s here in my neighborhood no longer offer iced tea, but have replaced it with a sugar-laden soft drink.
And get this:
McDonald’s added entree salads last year and has been moving to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals.
Who in the hell goes to McDonald’s for fruit and yogurt?
The difference between a large french fries and a supersize french fries is… are you ready? One ounce. Big deal. What’s worse is that today’s large is actually supersized, according to the NIH:
Today’s “Large” order of McDonalds’ fries weighs the same as 1998’s “Supersize,” and between 1998 and 2001, the “Supersize” got even bigger—it is now an ounce larger.
I’m amazed at the huge portions we all eat these days, and I am one of the offenders. When you don’t really cook, and you don’t take the time to think about it, you end up in the trap. If you eat out a lot like me, you don’t tend to think about it.
What I wonder is this: why are restaurants and marketers serving us more and more food? Is it like the SUV craze? Is bigger always better? Why have they changed our behavior so drastically?
Back when Jimmy Carter was president, a typical fast food burger weighed 6.1 ounces but now they weigh 7.2 ounces — an 18% increase. An order of French fries has increased by 16%. Soft drink sizes have risen by 50%. A typical Mexican food meal used to equal about 408 calories, but now it’s 541 calories, an increase of 33%.
Heck, back in that era, you could buy a 12-oz bottle of Coke. Now those bottles are all 20-oz… almost twice as much, and yet people still assume one bottle = one serving. Did you know that one of those Super Big Gulps packs an unbelievable 800 calories? The average diet should be about 2,000 calories per day – that soda has eaten up almost half your daily calories.
it just goes to show how we, as a people, are easily manipulated and don’t even realize it until it’s too late. In food, or in politics.
