Report: 'Super Sizing' Is Unhealthy

Groups Say Larger Portions Contributing To Growing Waistlines

UPDATED: 9:06 a.m. EDT June 19, 2002

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A consumer-advocacy agency and a cancer research group said Tuesday that super-sizing is not always better, especially when it comes to food.

In fact, researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the American Institute for Cancer Research say that super-sized meals could be downright dangerous to your health.

The group's report -- "From the Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super-Sizing" -- shows that the larger portions now readily available in fast-food restaurants and convenience stores is encouraging patrons to overeat, thereby contributing to the nationwide trend of overweight adults and children.

Statistics show that nearly 60 percent of Americans are overweight, and more than one-fourth of those would be classified as obese -- or 20 percent or more over their ideal weight. Americans suffering from obesity are at higher risk for health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and various types of cancer.

"Americans are quite literally eating ourselves into an early grave," the Consumer Federation's Carol Tucker Foreman said.

CPSI's Dr. Margo Wootan said that "bigger is rarely better" because "the true price of larger portions are larger calories and saturated fat numbers, and larger waistlines."

Registered dietician Melanie Polk offered this solution for resisting those extra portions: "Say small, say half and share."

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