Southland's Big Gulp Wins First Gluttony Prize!

Today, the X Curmudgeon initiates a new weekly award, the "Gluttony," to purveyors of oversized meal portions and other promoters of obesity.

With so many deserving candidates, the curmudgeon expects to hand out plenty of Gluttonies over the next few months, leading to the ultimate award, "Glutton of the Year," to be handed out at a gala ceremony (or at least with a nice graphic on the curmudgeon's blog) at the end of the year.The curmudgeon is happy to get your nominations!

And now, the first Gluttony! Drumroll, please. This week's Gluttony is well-deserved, going to one of the nation's first and most famous obesity promoters, the Southland Corporation--that's Seven-Eleven--for its Big Gulp! Yep, that ubiquitous 64-oz soda--far more liquid than any reasonably sized human needs --contains as much as 800 calories, nearly a third the calories a properly sized person needs in an entire day!(See, e.g., http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/14/calories_america.htm )

Even "diet" drinks present problems. (I just love it when some oversized man or woman orders the mega-whopper with cheese, supersize fries and, oh--"make it a diet soda"). Studies have shown that regular drinkers of diet drinkers develop a craving for the sweet taste, extending it to foods and other drinks.

Extra calories in drinks are particularly troubling because, as a number of studies have shown, the brain doesn't register the calories imbibed as liquid, as opposed to those that are chewed.Bottom line: there's nothing wrong with an occasional 12 oz. soda. Anything more and you're kidding yourself--you're going to get fat!

Congratulations Southland Corp. for food terrorism. Feel free to display your Gluttony proudly on each 64 oz. Big Gulp!