Are Canadians junk food junkies?

When it comes to cost, smaller portions just don't offer the value of their larger counterparts.

A McDonald's hamburger, small fries and small drink bought individually cost $4.27 and packs 620 calories, while the Big Mac combo packed in 1140 calories and cost just 92c more.

The problem with all this? As studies like Wansink's have shown, the more food in front of a person, the more they'll eat.

The American Institute for Cancer Research found 67% of people eat their entire entree when they eat out -- not a good thing considering the size of today's restaurant portions.

It boils down to this: bigger is rarely better when it comes to food. Ironically, there was never a demand for things like 2.2 litre servings of pop. Marketers manufactured that demand but that hasn't prevented people from buying in.

"Supersizing is a great bargain," says Dr. David Katz, an associate clinical professor of public health at Yale University.

"Many people pay 10 times as much money to lose weight that they gained for at no extra charge. Hello? You almost want to slap people."

Where kids get calories
Source: Food Habits of Canadians

Boys (aged 13-17) breads (9.4%) cakes/cookies/pies/granola bars (8.6%) milk/chocolate milk (8.3%) carbonated beverages (6%) beef/ground beef (5.2%) sugars/syrups/gelatins/cocoa (4.8%) cereals (4.6%) rice/pasta/grains (4.5%) salty snacks (3.6%) sausages/lunch meats/bacon (3.2%)	Girls (aged 13-17) breads (12.1%) cakes/cookies/pies/granola bars (7.4%) milk/chocolate milk (7.3%) carbonated beverages (6%) salty snacks (5.1%) pasta/rice/grains (4.7%) citrus fruit juices (4.6%) cereals (4.4%) beef/ground beef (3.5%) non-citrus fruits (3.1%)