In developed nations, especially in the U.S., obesity has increased at an alarming rate in the past decade. In their book, Advanced Human Nutrition, Wildman and Medeiros1 state that consumption surveys (in particular, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - NHANES) indicate that the amount of daily calories consumed by Americans has slightly decreased in the previous decade. This theme is echoed in many popular weight-loss books currently on the market; however, it is an idea that yours truly has found difficult to swallow.
| Era | Description | Size | Calories Per Serving |
| 1950s | one size | regular | 200 |
| 1970s | Regular fries are now small | new large | 320 |
| 1980s | Large is now regular | new large | 400 |
| 1990s | Large is now 450 calories | new super-size | 540 |
| 2000s | Super-size is now large | new super-size | 610 |
| The growth of McDonald's French fries. | |||
It is generally accepted that large population surveys tend to have large margins of error.2 It is also accepted that serving sizes have continued to increase. Take, for example, French fries from America's leading fast-food restaurant.
Most people do not realize that when they order a Big Mac, medium fries and a medium drink, they are about to consume 1,250 calories, including 56 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium.3 When a person requests a super-size soft drink and fries, the calories total 1,610.3 (This does not count the ketchup used on the fries.) Across the street at Burger King, a regular Whopper without cheese, a medium soda and medium fries contains 1,270 calories and 57 grams of fat;3 make it a double Whopper with cheese, large fries and a large drink, and the totals are a whopping (no pun intended) 2,050 calories, 95 grams of fat and 2,600 milligrams of sodium!3
Disappearance Data
Estimating food consumption by food disappearance statistics is accomplished as follows: Production is added to beginning stocks and total imports, and farm use, industrial use, exports, and ending stocks are subtracted. Disappearance data includes spoilage, spillage and waste. Thus, the actual amounts people consume are less. One lengthy USDA document4 includes in-depth disappearance data statistics on the types and amounts of food consumed from 1970 to 1997 in the United States. Also included is a macronutrient breakdown of daily disappearance levels (per person) of protein, carbohydrate, fat and calories. These statistics are available from 1970 to 1994. These data can be easily compared and contrasted using the tables below. My next article will contain more tables, and go into greater detail on the specific types, categories and kinds of food that have been "disappearing" in the United States.
| Year | Protein | Carbohydrates | Fat |
1970 | 95 | 386 | 154 |
1980 | 96 | 406 | 153 |
1990 | 105 | 458 | 156 |
1994 | 110 | 491 | 159 |
| Macronutrients consumed (grams per person per day). | |||
Year | Protein | Carbohydrates | Fat |
1970 | 11.4% | 46.6% | 41.8% |
1980 | 11.3% | 47.9% | 40.6% |
1990 | 11.5% | 50.1% | 38.4% |
1994 | 11.5% | 51.2% | 37.3% |
| Caloric consumption (percentage per person per day). | |||
| Year | Calories | Total calories per person per day (based on disappearance data). |
| 1970 | 3,310 | |
| 1980 | 3,385 | |
| 1990 | 3,656 | |
| 1994 | 3,835 |
References
- Wildman RE, Medeiros DM. Advanced Human Nutrition. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000.
- National Research Council. Nutrient Adequacy: Assessment Using Food Consumption Surveys. Washington: National Academy Press, 1986.
- Jacobson MS, Hurley JG. Restaurant Confidential. New York: Center for Science in the Public Interest, Workman Publishing Company, 2002.
- Putnam JJ, and Allshouse JE. Food Consumption, Prices, and Expenditures 1970-97. Food and Rural Economics Division, Economics Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture 1990, Statistical Bulletin no. 965.
G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN
Brea, California
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