A True Story

Researchers discovered that one bag of popcorn then sold in most movie theaters had 73 grams of saturated fat. That’s more than the 20 grams that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says should be the limit for a person each day. Silverman also knew why there was so much fat in the popcorn. Movie theaters were using coconut, loaded with tons of saturated fat, because it gave the popcorn a better texture and a more pleasant smell.

Silverman had a big challenge. He could tell most moviegoers weren’t taking the information seriously because popcorn sales weren’t going down. He asked, “How do you help people understand how dangerously unhealthy 73 grams of saturated fat is? ” He thought of different options, like using a bar graph to compare the amount of fat in popcorn with the USDA’s suggested daily allowance, but none of these proved effective. “Saturated fat has zero appeal. It’s dry, it’s academic, who cares?” he said. 

Instead, Silverman found another way ot expose the problem. He called a press conference and presented the story, saying that a medium-sized bag of popcorn found at most movie theaters has “more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a
steak dinner with al the trimmings – combined!”