“In a bid to uncover the roots of super-sized American fare, a pair of sibling scholars has turned to an unusual source: 52 artists' renderings of the New Testament's Last Supper. Their findings, published online…in the International Journal of Obesity, indicate that serving sizes have been marching heavenward for 1,000 years.”  

 

What were the results of the study?

 

“Over the course of the millennium, the [researchers] found that the entrees depicted on the plates laid before Jesus' followers grew by about 70%, and the bread by 23%. As entree portions rose, so too did the size of the plates -- by 65.6%.”

 

It's intriguing that the researchers saw their project as being important for understanding recent trends toward obesity rather than for grasping significant changes in theology that have taken place over the millennia. For one, it would seem that perhaps the emphasis on asceticism in early iconography was left behind more and more as the millennium marched forward, indicating a welcome affirmation of the physical body and material world.

 

I would like to think that perhaps the artists began to see that the Lord's Supper, along with being a commemoration of the already accomplished work of Christ, is an anticipation of the future meal that we will share with him upon his return. If one is depicting a meal that is not only past (and present), but also future, the depiction of that meal should portray the abundance of the anticipated festal celebration. While this is surely a stretch, it seems that the correlation between growing portion sizes and the eschaton is just as strong as the correlation between artistic depictions of the Last Supper and the relatively recent tendency among Americans to gorge themselves on large servings of fast food.