Supersize

Given that nearly 27% of U.S. adults are not just overweight but obese, the idea of a pizza-size sandwich might be cause for hand wringing and finger wagging, but very few Burger King customers will actually have access to it.

America's century-long love affair with the hamburger has survived health trends, the processed-food backlash, even the recession.

But the past decade has seen a shift in consumption patterns from the traditional patty-and-bun combination to what marketing executives call premium and specialty burgers that focus on high-quality beef and previously uncommon accoutrements.

That helps explain why restaurants are touting gourmet toppings, creating novelty proportions and making buns out of everything from soft pretzels to glazed doughnuts.

But the past decade has seen a shift in consumption patterns from the traditional patty-and-bun combination to what marketing executives call premium and specialty burgers that focus on high-quality beef and previously uncommon accoutrements.

That helps explain why restaurants are touting gourmet toppings, creating novelty proportions and making buns out of everything from soft pretzels to glazed doughnuts.

That helps explain why restaurants are touting gourmet toppings, creating novelty proportions and making buns out of everything from soft pretzels to glazed doughnuts.

America's century-long love affair with the hamburger has survived health trends, the processed-food backlash, even the recession.

That helps explain why restaurants are touting gourmet toppings, creating novelty proportions and making buns out of everything from soft pretzels to glazed doughnuts.

Oversize concept burgers are everywhere.

America's century-long love affair with the hamburger has survived health trends, the processed-food backlash, even the recession.

The $13 megaburger is 9.5 in. (24 cm) in diameter — the size of a small pizza — and is the caloric equivalent of nearly four Whoppers.

The $13 megaburger is 9.5 in. (24 cm) in diameter — the size of a small pizza — and is the caloric equivalent of nearly four Whoppers.

America's century-long love affair with the hamburger has survived health trends, the processed-food backlash, even the recession.

"We still offer low-fat, low-carb alternatives, but those never sell as well as big hamburgers do."

Given that nearly 27% of U.S. adults are not just overweight but obese, the idea of a pizza-size sandwich might be cause for hand wringing and finger wagging, but very few Burger King customers will actually have access to it.

But the past decade has seen a shift in consumption patterns from the traditional patty-and-bun combination to what marketing executives call premium and specialty burgers that focus on high-quality beef and previously uncommon accoutrements.

By that I mean that I tried Burger King's new Pizza Burger, a 2,530-calorie monstrosity that includes four hamburger patties, pepperoni, mozzarella and something called Tuscan sauce on an enormous sesame-seed bun.

That helps explain why restaurants are touting gourmet toppings, creating novelty proportions and making buns out of everything from soft pretzels to glazed doughnuts.

Freakishly large burgers provide amusement, maybe earn the eater some bragging rights, but in the end they offer nothing more than a hint of pizza sauce or a slight doughnut aftertaste.

America's century-long love affair with the hamburger has survived health trends, the processed-food backlash, even the recession.