America has super-sized

Globe and Mail ^ | Feb. 19, 2004 | ALAN FREEMAN

[demlosers]

Washington — I knew that something was up when I wandered into the drugstore next door to The Globe and Mail's Washington office looking for a soft drink and realized that the smallest size available was a neat 20 ounces.

It probably dates me but I still remember when the classic Coca-Cola bottle contained 6½ ounces of the stuff and the new king-size bottles were a generous 10 ounces. Who could drink 20 ounces of carbonated brown syrup in one go and not explode? Looking around me, I soon realized that 292 million Americans do it every day and think nothing of it.

After living in Europe for the past seven years, spending five weeks in Middle America was something of a shock. At times I began to think that all of American society had gone on steroids. From soft drinks to cars to houses and sadly, to people, America has gone super-sized.

Sure, Europeans are getting fatter and there's considerable gnashing of teeth about too much sugar and fat in the daily diet in Italy and France. There's worry in Britain that children are no longer walking to school and spending too much time at their computers rather than shivering on rain-soaked soccer pitches kicking around a ball.

But nothing prepared me for Des Moines, Iowa, in mid-January. It was like the scene from a science fiction film after some nuclear disaster. Not a soul could be spotted walking down the cold, windswept streets. Instead, massive SUVs with hefty names like Escapade, Navigator and Yukon cruised around like earthbound aircraft carriers, disappearing into the massive parking garages that abutted every highrise office building.

When I wondered who exactly would need such huge vehicles to get and from the convenience store, I thought again when I saw the size of the people climbing in and out of the front seat.

When I checked out the scene at 801, Des Moines's classiest steakhouse and a favourite with the journalists and politicos who had crowded into town for Iowa's presidential caucuses, I was taken aback to learn that the most popular item on the menu was a 24-ounce Porterhouse. For those who thought it was too much like an appetizer, I was told, there was also a 40-ounce Porterhouse.

As a friend commented later, "Why not just eat the whole cow?"

When checking into hotels, the desk clerk would sometimes apologize for the fact that all the King-size beds were taken. Considering the fact that I was travelling alone, a double bed seemed more than adequate to me.

On TV, it was clear something was going on. If it wasn't low-carb beer or low-carb bread that was being advertised, it was the miraculous Ab-Flex or the tread mill you could fold up and slide beneath your king-sized bed. Yet at the same time, I remember an ad for a brand of ready-made macaroni which had just increased its standard size by 50 per cent because it said that growing kids couldn't get enough of it.

All of this just confirmed a pet theory of mine, that the problem in America is that food and gas are simply too cheap. When it costs you $100 (Canadian) to fill your gas tank, as it does when I go to the service station in London in my ancient VW Passat, you think twice of buying a mastodon that gets half the mileage.

Likewise, when your home refrigerator is the size of one that would look fine in Barbie and Ken's kitchen, there's simply no place for super-sized tubs of ice cream or soft drink containers that require a forklift for pouring. Cheap gasoline is another pernicious influence. With the help of abundant land and tax-subsidized mortgages, it has suburbanized America and destroyed public transit in most cities. And in turn that all helps make people fatter still.

When people use buses or subways, they're forced to move around to get somewhere. There's always the walk to the bus stop or the climb up the stairs in the subway station. And unlike working out in the gym, walking home from your neighbourhood shopping street or local school laden with parcels or schoolbooks costs nothing, burns calories and is easily integrated into a daily routine.

Whether it was Nashua, N.H., or Columbia, N.H., I never seemed to have to walk more than a few metres from my parked car to a restaurant for a meal or a high-school auditorium for a political rally.

Not to say that there aren't some advantages to America's love affair with size. Parking is a breeze because parking lots are massive and individual spaces appear to be twice as wide as the standard one at a European parking garage. And if you're inclined to be frugal, you can always order just one portion of linguini or fajitas at an American restaurant and feed a family of five with it, with some left over for a doggie bag to take home and put in your commercial-sized refrigerator.

Yet excess seems ingrained in the American psyche. I'm convinced that the reason the Atkins diet is popular is not because it forces people to eat fewer carbohydrates but because you can eat as many 40-ounce Porterhouse steaks as you want.

Moderation, I guess, is simply no fun.

[Asclepius]

When it costs you $100 (Canadian) to fill your gas tank ...

Say what?!

[PeteFromMontana]

That was too easy

[Gabz]

Spare me..............

Sheesh. I moved out of the city in order to be able to go out and walk around or do things outdoors with my 5 year old without being afraid of getting run over or gunned down....

[okie01]

"All of this just confirmed a pet theory of mine, that the problem in America is that food and gas are simply too cheap."

Spoken like a true socialist.

Keep the peasants poor and save all the good stuff for us liberal elite.

If he only realized how idiotic that sentence truly is...

[demlosers]

Spoken like a true socialist.

If he only realized how idiotic that sentence truly is...

Yup, the wrong answer.

[Triple Word Score]

I'm convinced that the reason the Atkins diet is popular is not because it forces people to eat fewer carbohydrates but because you can eat as many 40-ounce Porterhouse steaks as you want.

That's a LIE. Portion control is part of Atkins, too, and there is an emphasis on nutrition and vegetables.

I speak as someone who is starting Weight Watchers online. Many of us carry the genes of ancestors who managed to survive famines that thinned the ranks of the naturally skinny. We have efficient metabolisms. We could get by on minimal calories every day because we were bred to store as much energy as we can and burn as little as possible--to survive hard times. Decades of unprecedented plenty may kill us--for the moment, the evolutionary advantage is tilting marginally toward those who smugly proclaim that they have natural "self control" or acquired "discipline" when it comes to food. No. It's genetic, and it's very difficult to overcome your heredity on something as fundamental as metabolism.

Bulemia. Ask your doctor if it might be right for you....

[PAR35]

I've never bought gas in England, but in Germany it runs about 4 or 5 Euro a gallon - say $8 Canadian Dollars. 12 (US) gallons at a fill up would be close to $100 Canadian.

[writer33]

"It probably dates me but I still remember when the classic Coca-Cola bottle contained 6½ ounces of the stuff and the new king-size bottles were a generous 10 ounces. Who could drink 20 ounces of carbonated brown syrup in one go and not explode? Looking around me, I soon realized that 292 million Americans do it every day and think nothing of it."

20 ounces of soda is small. And yes, I can pig out if I choose. The question seems to be, why are we even writing this worthless article? Go report some real news.

[Praxeologue]

The Globe and Mail should henceforth require this reporter to use public transportation, and his own propulsion, on all company business.

... another socialist Canadian hypocrite

[dayton law dude]

In a sense, I agree with the author. For some reason, we Americans are obsessed with always having things bigger and more powerful. My neighbors are classic examples. And these two families hate each other. I guess our house is kind of the "buffer zone." Anyway, the neighbors on out left came home one day with a brand new Chevy Suburban. A few weeks later, the neighbors on our right came home with a brand new Hummer. I mean, I honestly see no point why anyone, save for those who live in severly mountanious terrain, need such a monster automobile. Do Hummers really have a point other than to use up ungodly amounts of gasoline and block my view of the road ahead?

[Age of Reason]

I've never bought gas in England, but in Germany it runs about 4 or 5 Euro a gallon - say $8 Canadian Dollars. 12 (US) gallons at a fill up would be close to $100 Canadian.

I believe that's because gasoline is highly taxed in Europe.

That could be a good idea for the U.S., too.

Americans do waste huge amounts of fuel (commonly called, 'energy'); placing a high tax on gasoline would encourage wiser use of fuel.

So, I'd be for a high tax on gasoline.

But with one provision: that the additonal tax so collected, is returned in the form of an income tax rebate to those people who conserve fuel.

[Schattie]

Just another luddite who wants us all to live like it's 1902 (or even better 1802) and cram into tenements and walk down to the corner store and listen to our neighbors arguing all night in a tightly packed neighborhood.

Americans like room and space. It's a natural human desire. There is no way that cramming into cities is healthy, living in suburban nature (not real nature, admittedly) is just more healthy than cramming into dense cities... there was a NY Times article on this a few months ago.

On the other hand, some people like crowded cities, so for that we have one of the most crowded cities in the world: NYC. As for his comment on mass transit, doesn't NYC subway system have the highest ridership in the world?

So some people like suburbs and some people like cities, and in America we think it's best to let people decide for themselves how they want to live.

[Schattie]

Remember... that's a good thing! ;)

[Age of Reason]

So basically, if your neighbor wastes huge amounts of gasoline in his gas guzzling car, the government collects extra $$ from him, and then gives those $$ to you for conserving fuel.

[Schattie]

Paying more for gas = lower standard of living. No thanks and I think most Americans would agree with me.

[Arpege92]

"....why are we even writing this worthless article? Go report some real news."

That's exactly what I was thinking. Sounds like this person was having a difficult time finding a story good enough to smear Americans and all IT came up with was large soda containers?

[Age of Reason]

Now if people want to eat like pigs, sit on their butts, and get fat--why should I care?

[Age of Reason]

Paying more for gas = lower standard of living

Why?

[Schattie]

If anything, it shows American prosperity. Too much prosperity perhaps. But it's bizarre that that's a problem.

In some countries they have to pick through garbage to eat.