SENTINEL WATCH June 27, 2005 Issue

GENUINE CONTENTMENT

EVAN MEHLENBACHER

I WAS INTRIGUED by a recent USA Today article (May 13-15) about the "Monster Thickburger" that the Hardee's and Carl's Jr. fast-food chains added to their menus late last year. At a time when consumers are perhaps more health-conscious than ever, the introduction of this burger, weighing in at a heaping 1,420 calories per serving, increased sales at the restaurants. Company executives were not surprised, the article continued. People want taste, the article said, and are ignoring health concerns to indulge it.

After reading this report, I wondered if the embrace of bigger helpings of food was symptomatic of a larger undercurrent of unsatisfied want sweeping through society in recent years. The acceptance of larger portions has shown up in the purchase of many different types of items.

Eye-popping SUVs cruise down our highways. Bigger closets are packed with multiples sets of clothes and accessories. Homebuyers, on average, buy larger houses than they did in recent decades. Single-serving soft drinks come in sizes four times larger than they did 30 years ago. Whether one has a big or a little budget, in America anyway, there has been a trend toward wanting more matter or more sensual stimulation.