Download Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted and

“Not Everything That Counts Can Be
Counted and Not Everything that Can Be
Counted Counts:”
A look at the growing size of portions and waistlines
By
Bryon D. Gaskin
Phone: 765.661.4042
Email: [email protected]
For
Dr. Borna
MBA671: Marketing Management
Ball State University
Summer 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 3
RECENT HISTORY OF PORTION SIZES: ............................................................. 3
VALUE: ...................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION:
The title of this paper, “Not everything that counts
can be counted and not everything that is countable
counts,” is borrowed from Albert Einstein.
The quote lends
itself to the subject of food portion size and the
marketer’s role in satisfying consumer wants and needs.
In
the United States, a nation that place that holds thinness
in high regards, you have two opposing forces that clash.
On one side, the majority of consumers want to thinner
rather than heavier, as evident of the multibillion dollar
diet and weight loss industry and on the other side you
have consumers who want to get the most value for their
dollar.
It appears as if consumers are failing to realize
that portion size counts, portion size is countable, but
consumers don’t seem able to count them.
This paper is not
normative, nor does it intend to place blame on either the
marketer or the consumer; instead it is descriptive in
nature and should be view as a guide by both consumer and
marketer to understand why portion sizes have increased.
RECENT HISTORY OF PORTION SIZES:
Marion Nestle, PhD, states that popular food chain
restaurants in the 1950s offered one size of French fries.
In 2001, that size was labeled as “small” and is only 1/3
the weight of the largest order of French fries. (Nestel)
According to Melanie K Polk, RD and the Director of
Nutrition at the American Institute of Cancer research,
when ethnic foods are “Americanized” the portion sizes are
likely to grow as they transcend borders.
Croissants in
the United States contain about 100 more calories than
their counterparts in France.
Jewish people from Poland
brought a 1 ½ ounce bagel containing only about 116
calories to the United States; however the bagel now three
times the size, weighs 4
to 4 ½ ounces and contains
approximately 300 calories. South of the border foods are
not exempt either from Americanization.
A typical Mexican
quesadilla is 5 inches in diameter, contains 32 grams of
fat and 540 calories.
Its “Hermano Americano” (American
Brother) is 10 inches in diameter, typically contains about
70 grams of fat and close to 1200 calories. (Polk)
To put this number into perspective, the government
recommends 1600 calories a day for women and 2200 calories
a day for men.
If woman were to eat just one quesadilla,
she would be consuming 75% of her recommended daily caloric
allowance.
In 1971 the average caloric intake for women
and men was 1542 and 2450 respectively.
Thirty years later
in 2001, those numbers climbed to 1877 and 2618
respectively. (American Women)
There has to be a reason for this increase in caloric
consumption, it cannot be attributed to the increase in
activity level over the past 30 years, many articles in
reputable newspaper or health journal were certainly point
this out, there must be something else.
It is that
“something else” that is of major interest to this paper.
VALUE:
Going to the belly of the enemy, information gathered
from Restaurant.org, states that restaurants should aim to
satisfy customer value.
The National Restaurant
Association performed a study called “Dinning making
Decisions,” that found that “portion size” was one the “10
hallmarks of a great place.”
Of course this information
should be taken with a grain of salt considering the bias
nature of the company funding the research, however, what
is important is the recommendation that Restaurant.org
makes to its target audience (restaurant operators).
The
article suggest that restaurant operators in order to meet
consumers’ expectations of regarding portion size, should
offer a variety options to “satisfy today’s value-conscious
dinners.”
Value-concious…..
WORKS CITED
February 2002, Vol 92, No. 2 | American Journal of Public Health 246-249
© 2002 American Public Health Association
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic
Lisa R. Young, PhD, RD and Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH