Portion size 10/16

By Mariana Garcia-Serrato

Last updated about 4 years ago

5 Questions

The size and calories of fast food menu items have changed over the past 30 years. What do you notice and wonder about these changes?

(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-graph-oct-16-2019.html)

What is being shown by the dark gray bars?

years

the weight of the portion

the number of calories

the type of dish

What does the graph mean overall?

While portion sizes have not increased dramatically (with the possible exception of dessert), the calorie counts of the portions, have increased in the last 10 years

The ideal portion size

People get most of their calories from sweets

There is an obesity epidemic in the U.S. People are consuming more calories which is why the waistline of the population has increased in the last 10 years.

Select all true statements supported by the graph

People who consume more calories tend to be heavier than people who consume less calories.

In the last 10 years there has been an overall increase in the number of calories consumed.

In 1986 and 1991 people got most of their calories from entrees. 

In 2016 people got most of their calories from desserts

Portion sizes for sides have remained basically the same.

What's going on in this graph? (i.e. what would be an accurate conclusion that can be supported by this graph)
To answer this question use the CER framework

Write a  >140 character Tweet that could accompany the sharing of the of the map/image. 
This means, you would write a  short sentence or two that describes one surprising thing you noticed from the map and you accompany it with one or two relevant hashtags.