We've Been Supersized!

It’s hard to be aware of how much average American serving sizes have grown in the past two decades, since our eyes and stomachs tend to adjust to portion inflation. Here are some facts:

• In restaurants: Typical dinner plates are now 12 to 13 inches across, compared to 10 inches 15 years ago. Many restaurants today even serve individual main courses on big plates.

• Fast food: When French fries, hamburgers, and soft drinks were first introduced, they were available in one size, smaller than or equal to today’s smallest sizes. Servings called “super- size” just a few years ago are now often called merely “large” – “supersizes” are even bigger.

• In cars: Car makers now install larger cup holders in new cars to accommodate larger cup sizes.

• In cookbooks: In the revised 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking, many cookie and dessert recipes list the same amount of ingredients as in the 1964 edition, but result in fewer servings, because people now expect larger portions.

Yes, we all want to get our money’s worth. But buying the “economy” sizes in snacks and fast food is not a bargain when it comes to your health!

View the changes in portions over the last 20 years.