The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has produced a new report which claims that the food industry’s “value marketing” (offering larger portion sizes for just a little extra money) encourages overeating and contributes to the rising rates of obesity in adults and children.
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CSPI’s director of nutrition policy Margo Wootan explained: “Americans are constantly induced to spend a little more money to get a lot more food.
“Getting more for your money is ingrained in the American psyche. But bigger is rarely better when it comes to food.”
The report, entitled From Wallet To Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super Sizing, was issued by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), a coalition of over 225 national, state and local health organisations.
It compares the price, calories, and saturated fat in differently sized foods from various outlets. And it found, for example, that upgrading from a 3oz Minibon to a Classic Cinnabon costs 24% more but delivers 123% more calories and almost 75% of a day’s recommended allowance of saturated fat.
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By GlobalDataSimilarly, it costs 8 cents more to purchase a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese, small French fries, and small Coke (890 calories) separately than it costs to buy the Quarter Pounder with Cheese large Extra Value Meal, which comes with a large fries and large Coke (1,380 calories).
“McDonald’s actually charges customers more to buy a smaller, lower-calorie meal,” Wootan said.
The report says that the practice of “bundling” (making a fastfood sandwich into a “value meal” with added fries and a soft drink) is responsible for some of the largest increases in calorie content. Soft drinks are especially bad health bargains, it says: “They cost the least to upgrade and deliver the biggest calorie boosts (and they provide some of the highest profit margins for retailers).”
“These pricing practices make a compelling case for requiring fastfood and other chain restaurants to disclose calories right on their menus,” CSPI’s Wootan said.
“So what can consumers do right now? We can speak up,” said Melanie Polk, RD, director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research.
This way, Polk said, food marketers know that consumers want healthy meals. “Order a small or half-size. Share that bucket of fries. Keeping those extra cents in your wallet means keeping extra pounds off your body.”
Interestingly, Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America, added: “If you walked into a McDonald’s in the 1950s and ordered a burger, fries and a 12oz coke, you’d have bought a meal with about 590 calories. Today a popular super-sized meal may contain 1,000 calories more. As a result, we’re super sizing our kids and super sizing ourselves.”
Industry slams report
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) responded negatively to the suggestion that . Association CEO Steven C. Anderson commented: “Once again, CSPI is trying to make news out of nothing.
“The group continually feeds the media and consumers negative messages that vilify the foods that people love.”
Anderson added that as far as the NRA is concerned, “the facts remain the same”. He said that dietary experts agree that all foods can be a part of a healthy lifestyle and that the nation’s 858,000 restaurant-and-foodservice outlets offer a variety of foods in a host of sizes.
Furthermore, he suggested that CSPI’s moves to police the food supply are unnecessary: “Consumers are value-conscious, and both like and want the freedom to eat foods they enjoy. Seventy-one percent of adults agree that there are enough portion sizes available at restaurants. And virtually every restaurant allows customers to customise their meals to suit their own needs.
“A steady diet of positive messages on the benefits of exercise and nutrition education is the best way to address the complex issue of obesity.”
Obesity rates in US adults rose by 60% between 1990 and 2000, while childhood obesity rates doubled over the last 20 years. Obesity causes an estimated 300,000 premature deaths each year, second only to smoking as the leading cause of preventable death.
