A Nation of Over Consumers
by Pamela | February 18th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I am a CNN junkie. Pretty much when I have nothing else to watch (like "Chuck” or "Suze Orman”) I will have CNN on. Last Sunday I was watching Fareed Zakaria GPS and Paul Volcker was on. He said something that made me sit up and pay attention. He stated that the reason the United States was in the midst of such economic turmoil was that we have become a nation of over consumers.
image by VirtualErn I suppose Paul Volcker does not realize that he also hit the nail on the head when it comes to the obesity epidemic and the healthcare crisis. Our problem is we over consume not just things but food.
I think the best way to highlight our changes in consumption is the growth of portion sizes over the years. I found a great article at www.worldhealth.net that compares the portion of some common items 20 years ago and today.
First up, 2 slices of pizza. 20 years ago two slices would have been about 500 calories. Today they weigh in at 850. 350 calories more that, if you eat pizza once a week, would equal 5.2 pounds gained a year.
Or how about a cup of coffee? Before the rise in popularity of Starbucks the average morning joe was 8 oz of coffee with milk and sugar. The calories came in at about 45 a serving. Today, if you order a Grande Café Mocha with whip and 2% milk you are consuming 330 calories. If you made the switch and have one a day that means an extra 285 calories a day.
Then there is the ever popular movie popcorn. Before the average serving was 5 cups worth at 270 calories. Today anyone and everyone has the giant tub that holds 630 calories worth of popcorn. Going to the movies once per week could mean an extra 5.4 pounds per year.
Next we have the soda to wash down that popcorn. 8 oz was the original bottle size with only 95 calories. Today a 20 oz bottle will give you 242 calories and lots of high fructose corn syrup.
Finally a look at the bagel. Bagels are good for you right? Not the oversized ones we consume today. 20 years ago the average bagel was 3 inches in diameter and about 140 calories. Today, they are 5-6 inches in diameter and 350 calories. That does not include the cream cheese we love to smear on them.
Anyone else freaked out by the way our food grows when we are not looking? I am that’s for sure. Turning around the culture of over consuming is what we need to do for our pocketbooks and for our waistlines.
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February 18th, 2010
Oh my God, those statistics are scary! I guess it’s good that I drink my coffee black without sugar – certainly given the amount I drink. Popcorn rates as one of my trigger foods, so I just don’t touch it. If I start at all, I don’t stop. That’s pretty much my philosophy with all my trigger foods.
February 18th, 2010
I love popcorn, but don’t eat it often due to all the salt. When I do get it at the movies I order the kid’s size. They always try to upsell me. I guess they don’t understand that I actually want a small amount of food on purpose.
February 23rd, 2010
Wow! I came over from reading your great post on Lady Bloggers Society and I am sitting here speechless. I have been trying to lead my family in more conscious, healthy eating. I knew our portions had grown but the extent is mind-boggling. Thank you for sharing this.
Traci
38andgrowing.blogspot.com
February 23rd, 2010
Thanks for checking out the blog, Traci. It is mind boggling. I think a lot of people are trying to do the right thing, but the deck keeps getting stacked higher and higher against us. The more info I or anyone else can share the better.
March 4th, 2010
Great article, Pamela. I think it’s interesting, too, how hard it is to eat half a portion of something. Even if bagels now are double the size they initially were, I have an easier time eating a small bagel than I do eating half a large bagle. Half of something feels a bit like deprivation– totally psychological.
Berlinoise, interesting that you cannot eat popcorn. I find if I add stevia/splenda to it it can be so voluminous and time-consuming and stimulating and a good substitute for the baked goods we all love. We are all so different.
March 4th, 2010
I totally get the bagel thing. I find buying the mini bagels (Pepperidge Farms I think) I can enjoy them in a managble way. What I also find interesting is the difference in portion size by region. When we go to SF, the restaurants provide much more reasonable portions than the overload you see in the Midwest.