If there's one thing I've noticed about Americans in the 20 years I've lived here it's that size does matter. Not only does it matter, but a lot can be learned about American culture by just examining our attitudes towards size. The truth is: We like it big, and we refuse to settle for less.Take food, for example. Not only have portions sizes greatly increased in the past few decades, but Americans have gone as far as to make this phenomenon into its own word. "Just super-size it," is a common phrase heard at fast-food chains. Hey, why settle for 400 calories if you can have 600 for the same price?

Compared to countries around the world, American portions are gargantuan. Self Magazine recently published a comparison of portion sizes in the United States and those in European countries. The results were shocking. For example, if you order fries in London in an average fast-food chain, you can expect to consume 5.5 ounces and 485 calories. Order the same fries in the United States and you will consume seven ounces and 610 calories. Now that's a "super-size" difference!

It's no surprise - even if it is shocking and unfortunate -- that the percentage of adults in the United States suffering from obesity is expected to reach 40 percent in the next five years, according to a February 2003 USA Today report. This percent has more than tripled from the 13 percent obesity rate of the 1960s.

As a result of the growing obesity rate in the United States, many seats in subway trains, stadiums and movie theaters have been growing along with our waistlines. In fact, some airlines have started requiring overweight passengers to buy two seats so the comfort of other passengers is not compromised.

Veering away from food for the time being, there are other aspects of American life that have been "super-sized," as well. The vehicles we choose to buy seem to get bigger each year. In the 1970s it would be hard to find a SUV on a public road, as most SUVs were used for farming and light commercial work.

Today, however, it is hard not to see an SUV when driving on a public road. Despite their gas-guzzling and environmentally harmful drawbacks, many Americans believe that, because of their size, SUVs are safer. Unfortunately, I cannot argue this fact. Anyone remotely familiar with the laws of physics can predict that an SUV would win if it crashed into a compact or mid-size car, the result of this match-up causing a greater likelihood of fatalities.

According to a 1999 New York Times study, in multiple vehicles crashes -- for example, when an SUV hits a passenger car -- the occupants of the passenger car are four times more likely to be killed. The former head of National Highway Traffic Safety Association has even gone on record as saying that SUVs may be responsible for as many as 2,000 extra fatalities a year -- that's five percent of the people who die on the roads in the United States each year.
So now the question becomes: What is it about American culture that makes us such gluttons for size? Perhaps the answer lies in our compulsive culture of consumption. We are consumers by nature, and our natural propensity is to always want more. Therefore, marketers try to lure us with the possibility of "getting more for your buck."

A "33 percent more free," stamped across a shampoo bottle is far more attractive than the same bottle sitting next to it stamp-free. The same goes for food and cars. For example, the Cheesecake Factory uses their large portions as a marketing technique. "If they (customers) don't perceive us as providing a great value, they won't be back," said Timothy Weems of the Cheesecake Factory chain in an August 2003 NBC Nightly News report.

Similarly, buyers of SUVs are often sold on the mere fact that they're getting a bigger car for the same amount of money as a regular-sized car. This is not to mention the rugged, sporty image that comes along with having a large SUV.

While I agree that in many situations size definitely does matter, I refuse to believe that bigger is always better. I don't claim to be immune to the "super-size syndrome" taking hold of the United States -- after all, who can turn down something seemingly for free? But I do hope to be aware when I see this syndrome being taken too far in my own life. And even though I'm far from a moderate when it comes to politics, I think I might aim for some moderation when it comes to other aspects of my life.