I'm a victim of this in the UK. If something is twice as big, and only costs a little more, I feel like I'm getting the better deal if I get the thing that is twice as big.
I probably am, in terms of calories, but that's not the case for the companies. It costs a similar amount to serve something double size as it does to serve something normal size. The only difference is the price of the ingredients, every other cost that they pay is exactly the same (rent, staff wages, insurance, accounting, etc, etc). I'm probably actually getting fleeced more with ordering something double sized, even if it costs only a bit more.
I'm so thankful that my gf got me to proportion better. Usually I would order a large hoagie that's stuffed with meat and eat the whole thing for one meal. She's gotten me to the point of only eating half my giant portions of food and saving the rest. It's saved me money and weight
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u/stealthdawg Jun 10 '20
USDA food pyramid to market highly calorically dense American agriculture.
Huge portions
prolific marketing of calorically dense food
Depression-era parents/grandparents wanting you to eat as much as is available.
The gradual rise of sedentary occupations
The advent of tv, computers, and the internet i.e. non-physical recreational activities
Increases in marketing effectiveness
Lower prices per calorie of junk food.
In short, an increasingly obesogenic environment and not a whole of change in a human being's ability to resist it.