CDC Shows Burger Size Has Tripled in Last 50 Years

ABC News; Food styling by Karen Pickus

A new graphic from the CDC shows how the size of a burger has tripled over the past 50 years. Today's average fast food burger clocks in at 12 ounces, compared to the mere 3.9 ounces it weighed in the 1950's.

Burgers weren't the only food to get a growth-spurt, fries and soft drinks grew right alongside it.

The size of fries has increased from 2.4 to 6.7 ounces and soft drinks have skyrocketed from 7 to 42 ounces.

"The large is the new small and it makes it very difficult for us from the nutrition standpoint," says "Good Morning America" contributor and nutritionist Diane Henderiks.

Henderiks recommends always ordering a small when you go out- "today's small is probably what a large used to be in the fifties."

She suggests eye-balling a portion the size of a tennis ball when making burgers. If you have a scale at home, each patty should weigh about 3 ounces.

While most recipes call for much larger portions, it's ok to alter the size of patty to a smaller size.

"Traditional sliders should be an ounce or two," she says.

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