With package sizes getting smaller, why are we still getting larger?

I love that there are three stories that are in the papers every year and still seem to come as such a shock. We've already seen the first (how consumers have too many choices) and now an intrepid classmate has found us a story from Tuesday's New York Times that talks about how companies are downsizing our products to reduce costs. Interestingly, February's Consumer Reports also ran an article on downsizing. You need to click on the section headers on the left to read all 5 sections of this article, but in it you can see the experts saying everything that you already know (and some great examples). Who knew that Tropicana is no longer half a gallon (64 oz.) but is now sold in 59 oz. containers? I guess the nice thing about an arbitrary number of ounces is that the next downsize is that much easier... I still find it amazing that with all our new sweeteners, diet products, and downsized products, we still find creative ways to get fatter and unhealthier every year. Go us!