February
17, 2009
The Problem Of Super-Sizing
Interview
with Hank Cardello, author of
Stuffed |
Mike Carruthers:
As
we look at the obesity problem in this country a lot of people
are pointing fingers at the fast food companies, saying they are
a big part of the problem.
Frank Cardello:
It's really economics; I mean nobody sat in their offices in
these fast food restaurants or in the food companies saying,
"How do we make people overweight or fat?" - rather
they make more profits the larger the size gets.
Former food executive
Hank Cardello, author of the book Stuffed…
So for instance
with super-sizing a beverage, a beverage is pretty cheap so
the bigger you make it the bigger the profit.
Some government
agencies are looking to crack down on the fat and calories served
by big food companies.
For instance
in December, New York state proposed an eighteen percent tax
on soft drinks. I would propose that they get ahead of the issue,
start making healthier versions of their products and they'll
stay ahead of this regulatory tsunami - otherwise they will
be engulfed by it.
There is some
movement in that direction - some snack food companies are now
offering these hundred calorie packs. So you get only one hundred
calories of cookies or crackers per pack.
Studies have
been done that show that people who eat only out of those hundred
calorie packs are eating about a hundred and twenty calories
less a day than people who eat out of the big box. So that's
a good way of demonstrating that portion control can work in
a way where people still get to enjoy what they're used to eating.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
|
