Supersizing the Last Supper

Our appetites have grown in Biblical proportions over the past 1,000 years, according to research out of Cornell University.

For this unusual study — published in The International Journal of Obesity — researchers looked at more than 50 famous paintings of the Last Supper, which according to the New Testament occurred during a Passover evening. The paintings researchers looked at were painted over the last millennium.

By analyzing the artists’ depictions of food portions and plates, Cornell’s Professor Brian Wansink and colleagues found that over the past 1,000 years, the size of entrées has increased by a whopping 69 per cent. The portion size of bread has increased by 23 per cent, and plate size — which experts say encourages people to overeat — has also become significantly larger, with an increase of 66 per cent.

“We took the 52 most famous paintings of the Last Supper (from the book Last Supper, 2000) and analyzed the size of the entrées, bread and plates, relative to the average size of the average head in the painting,” Wansink said in a release.

The analysis was facilitated by computer-aided design technology that allowed items in the paintings to be scanned, rotated and calculated regardless of their orientation in the painting.

“The last thousand years have witnessed dramatic increases in the production, availability, safety, abundance and affordability of food,” said Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. “We think that as art imitates life, these changes have been reflected in paintings of history’s most famous dinner.”

Changes in activity and eating patterns

It’s no secret that supersized meals can lead to supersized bodies. Today’s larger food portion sizes — which means, simply, that more calories are being consumed — along with the wide availability of fast, inexpensive food often means that not only are we eating more, but that we’re eating less healthfully. (What is an appropriate portion size? See 6 keys for healthy eating.)

And when you consider that, increasingly, levels of physical activity in our working and leisure lives are on the decline, it’s no surprise that unhealthy weight gain and obesity has, over time, become a global epidemic.

A global problem

Just how big of problem is obesity in Canada? Two out of every three adults are now overweight or obese, according to Statistics Canada. And it’s not just adults who are affected. Alarmingly, in the last 25 years, the proportion of obese children has nearly tripled. (See 10 tips for healthy kids.)

Obesity is one of the leading factors in heart disease and stroke, as well as in Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 1.8 million Canadians. People who are overweight or obese also face an increased risk for:

•  Some cancers such as breast, colon and endometrial cancer.

•  Gallbladder disease.

•  Osteoarthritis.

•  Sleep apnea and other breathing problems.

•  Depression or other mental health problems.

Globally, approximately 1.6 billion adults are overweight and 400 million are obese, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This number is projected to increase, with 2.3 billion adults expected to be overweight and 700 million obese by 2015. At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight in 2005, according to the WHO.

Sources: Cornell University news release; The International Journal of Obesity; ScienceDaily; Health Canada; World Health Organization

Photo ©iStockphoto.com/ kryczka

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