McDonald's Is at It Again

Posted Aug 23 07 1:53pm by Nirmala N.

Three years after McDonald?s phased out its Supersize menu, which garnered national attention from detractors and nutrition buffs everywhere, the fast food mogul is picking up where it left off�??with two new large-sized items: a 42-ounce soft drink (dubbed the Hugo) and a 1/3 pound burger. While the U.S. Surgeon General urged the food industry to reduce portion sizes a few years ago, a recent study shows that not much has changed in the way of portion sizes since then. In fact, for lots of restaurants, portion sizes have gone up, even alongside shifts to healthier menus. McDonalds? new soft drink has about 400 calories and is exactly the same size as a supersized drink. Their 1/3 pound Angus burger is currently being tested in Los Angeles and will be expanded to the northeastern market. It contains about 820 calories and 43 grams of fat if you keep the bacon and cheese. And if it?s eaten with large fries and a large coke, that equals a whopping 1,700 calories.

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Kristen D. Jul 13 08 5:14pm

Slendersize! I love it!

Cathy, you just may be onto something....

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Cathy W. Jul 13 08 3:35pm

It is just disgusting. A heart attack waiting to happen. Bigger sizes result in bigger bodies. What about SLENDERSIZE??

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martin m. Jun 10 08 9:30am

thats not good

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Shez B. Mar 08 08 4:00pm

Not to mention, the burgers themselves are revolting. They contain toxic chemicals...even in small portions.

I think that the key to health is eating healthy amounts of healthy food, primarily fruit and vegetables. You can eat as much celery as you want and not gain weight.

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Mary Ann P. Feb 01 08 7:41am

I personally try to steer clear of Mickey D's myself. Even their so called healthy items like the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait are so sweet that they are almost inedible. The regular sized one is 400 calories and I can make the same thing at home for about 150 calories. Their decaf is pretty good though.

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Nancy W. Sep 16 07 1:15pm

McDonald's decides their menus based on what sells. If we don't buy it, they don't make it. I am actually not against their supersize gimmicks. I just think the law should be that nutritional info is available on EVERY product-- not on a website you have to access if you remember after you have eaten. It should be posted AT THE RESTAURANT. Prohibition didn't stop drinking and I don't think it is society's role to police how big McDonald's makes its burgers. The only way to win this war is through education.

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Larisa R. Sep 13 07 11:18am

Restaurants offer us (majority of society) what we want. Their profits, like any business, thrive on demand. Rather than changing portion size and menu options, we need to educate our society on nutrition. Once society starts demanding healthier options and smaller sizes, restaurants will have to provide consumers what they demand. Education is the key to success (but maybe it's not because cigarettes are still flying off the shelves). Healthier menu options and smaller portions help those that are already health conscious, but are those same individuals really eating at McDonald's?

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Nancy W. Aug 26 07 8:04pm

The fast food industry came up with an incredible marketing gimmick with their supersizing. For only 39 cents more you can get like twice as many fries or twice as much drink. The problem is that the cost is much more than 39 cents-- it is high blood pressure and other negative health effects. I have to admit that I actually really like the taste of fast food every once in awhile, but I limit myself to a Happy Meal. The kid's meals are still not healthy, but the portion size is much more realistic.

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Kristen D. Aug 26 07 3:45pm

Even if that meal of a 1/3 pound burger, fries and a large coke were the online thing you ate that day, the number calories consumed is still a lot for most people. I remember eating McDonald's and other fast food places when I was a child quite a bit. I had a pretty exceptional metabolism, hardly ever gained a pound from it, but my cholesterol tended to be sky high pretty consistently. I'm not attributing it all to fast food, but it's time that people look out for their health and well-being. Let the restaurants offer whatever they want....people can always turn it down. Then maybe such places will change their plans.

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