Whoa! Portion Sizes

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the movies with friends to catch the latest Harry Potter flick. I'm not a usual movie theatre-goer as I prefer to watch movies in the comfort of my cleaner, less crowded home. But, when it comes to HP, there's no keeping me away.

Before settling into my seat, I decided to grab a little something to munch on at the concession stand. Popcorn sounded most appropriate, so without reading the details, I ordered the #1 combo. What was handed to me was this gargantuan bag of popcorn and an even bigger jug of pop. I was utterly stunned and asked the server what all this was. He explained, "Combo #1, like you asked." I finally had to ask what size everything was; his reply? Large. I was floored, and then asked, "Do people actually eat and drink this much?" He nodded yes, and then said, and you can come back for refills when you're done. REFILLS?

Since the movie experience, I've been absolutely perplexed at the leap portion sizes have taken. Do consumers actually expect to get that much? And, are humans expected to eat that much in one sitting? Yet we wonder why there's an obesity epidemic in this country?

Last night's airport dinner only compounds my amazement. While sitting at the airport for hours awaiting my flight to Toronto that never took off, I was in search of something to eat. Wanting to avoid the usual grease feast offered by food courts, I stopped by a coffee and bagel counter. The bagels looked rather appetizing, and so I ordered one toasted with cream cheese.

Instead, what I got was 2 bricks of cream cheese slapped in between my bagel slices. Upon getting over my shock at the sandwich provided to me, I returned to the counter to request a plastic knife, which I used to remove all, but a thin layer of cream cheese, from my bagel.