Food Companies Urging People To Eat Less, Making Portions Smaller

After spending years trying to convince consumers to buy more of their famous-name products, now some of the biggest players in the food industry are trying to get people to eat less of them. Burgers are shrinking, cookies are becoming thinner and package sizes are getting smaller.

According to businessinsider.com a company is telling customers to cut back on its more indulgent foods. Mars, maker of M&Ms and Uncle Ben's rice, said in April that it would start labeling some of its products to indicate that they should only be eaten occasionally, due to being higher in sugar, salt or fat.

Mars is the latest company to take this seemingly counterintuitive approach. A look at grocery aisles and restaurant menus shows how prevalent the trend has become toward products with leaner messaging.

• McDonald's announced it's testing new sizes for its iconic Big Mac, including a smaller "Mac Jr."
• Snack food maker Mondelez introduced "thin" Oreos last year — a smaller cookie, smaller package size and fewer calories per serving.
• Coke and Pepsi are finding a big audience for miniature soda cans, even as they continue to hawk two-liter guzzlers.
• Starbucks temporarily sold frappuccinos in a mini size last summer.

Americans are used to seeing large helpings of everything. In my opinion, we have been trained to get more for our money that when we see a normal portion we don't think we are getting our money's worth.