McDonald's, the company that "super-sized" America's fast-food meals - and perhaps some Americans, too - was praised by nutritionists, criticized by diners and ridiculed yet again yesterday in the aftermath of its decision to take "Super Size" french fries and soft drinks off the menu.
Bringing an end to a concept that the fast-food giant started in the 1990s - one that became as ingrained in pop culture as "Have it your way" and "Where's the beef?" - the company confirmed what it had outlined months earlier in a memo:
Super Size fries and drinks will be phased out at the more than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants across the country by the end of the year.
It's hardly an earth-shattering development; the difference between McDonald's Super Size fries and its large size is a paltry 0.8 ounces. Even if you eat them daily and make the switch, you would save only 7 pounds over a year.
But taken with other changes - from introducing entree salads last year to its plans to serve 1 percent fat milk instead of 2 percent - the end of super-sizing represents a substantial shift in the company's menu and another step in its continuing effort to project a more healthy image.
Not that the true McDonald's junkie cares much about that.
"If I wanted to eat healthy, I wouldn't be here in the first place," said Billy Layton, a 26-year-old teacher having lunch at a McDonald's on Falls Road in Hampden.
Though Layton rarely super-sizes his meals, he doesn't like losing that option. "I don't like other people making decisions for me," he said.
Pressure and ridicule
McDonald's and, to a lesser extent, other fast-food chains have been under increasing pressure to give consumers healthier offerings. McDonald's was sued, unsuccessfully, last year by a group of New York teen-agers who blamed the chain for their obesity.
It was the subject of an award-winning documentary, Super Size Me, in which filmmaker Morgan Spurlock chronicled his deteriorating health during a month in which he ate only McDonald's food.
And - as the nation's largest fast-food chain - it has increasingly become the butt of complaints from nutritional activists and jokes from late-night comedians.
In a statement released today, Spurlock, who gained 25 pounds during his month of eating only at McDonald's, said the decision to drop Super Size items was "a small step in the right direction."
