I didn't realize how big bagels have become! Just more yumminess to enjoy, right?
*crickets*

Except you still can get the smaller sizes of all those things.

I agree. I think they're cheating a bit. You can't compare a cup of coffee with a grande cafe mocha and say that the portion size for a cup of coffee has changed, as a grande cafe mocha isn't the same drink. Just because it's *made* with coffee doesn't mean it *is* a coffee....

I think the point was that the bigger portions are what the companies are marketing as a normal serving, and people are actually buying.

In other words, our perception of what constitutes a "regular" coffee, or slice, or burger has changed over the years.

My favorite is the super big gulp sodas that are nearly big enough to bathe in.

How a normal portion of sugar-laden beverage went from eight ounces to sixty-four is a mystery to me. That's got to be a pound of sugar in one serving!

Like drogue said, it's all about how the concept of "a serving" has dramatically changed...yeah, you could go to Pizza Hut and get a "personal pan" pizza or whatever that's smaller, but it's more of a specialty rather than the standard. Same thing with burgers - a kids meal is prob. closer to what a normal serving was 20 years ago, but who normally goes to Burger King and gets the smallest items?

If I go to Pizza Hut (which I've not done in a long, long time), I opt for the buffet, and you have to wheel me out of there when I'm done.

I think some of those comparisons aren't valid. The two hamburgers looked like a normal hamburger next to one that looked as though it was made by a culinary-inept patty-maker.

Me. Sometimes I'm tempted to get more, but now that almost every fast food place has all the nutritional information displayed adjacent to the ordering counters, I stick to the smallest portions.

I think it's safe to say that you aren't acting like the average American by getting the smallest thing possible on the menu. If everyone was like you, I don't think obesity would be such a problem, no? For the most part, I think the article was pretty fair. Most people don't go to Starbucks just for a small tall drip - they go and get some crazy fancy concoction. And most people don't go to BK for a small kids meal, sorry. They go for the Angry Whopper or the Whopper with cheese or whatever big slab of meat and most likely medium fries or whatever to get their money's worth or to get an extra game piece, etc.
These days you have places like Carl Jr.'s and Checker's and other chain places pumping out monster burgers, and the article just pointed that out. To eat normally, you have to try hard (be it with self-control, or getting the mini or kids version of something). Portions have generally gotten bigger.

Portions have changed. Yes, you CAN get smaller servings, but they're not the norm, and in some places, it's down right challenging to get!

I prefer to just avoid fast food entirely, and with restaurants...I either split a meal with my husband or we get boxes and bring half our plates home.

Free refills on sodas is my downfall.

I think the wrong culprits are being blamed for this nations' obesity.

It's easy to blame 99cent McDonald's hamburgers and fries because it's an easy swipe at the lower classes. Yet even the mighty Big Mac value meal is way smaller than many of the portions at higher end chains such as Applebee's, Chevy's, or Texas Roadhouse. And in older times families would make huge dinners and breakfasts.

The difference between the "old days" and today are 1- Activity 2- Snacks foods. The people before us were a lot more active. It's wasn't just recreational activities and exercise, but everyday activity and manual labor. The other offender that really hasn't been talked about is snacks. They are loaded with empty calories, are additive, and they are everywhere! For most people snacks are the most convenient and cheapest foods.

As I sit here drinking my 44oz fountain Mountain Dew while reading this article......

Portion sizes are also cultural. In France, I am given a meal, and I finish it. In Canada, I am given a meal and I eat 2/3 of it. In the U.S., I am given a meal and am lucky to eat half.