Macdonalds - USA and UK - Why the difference?

suziecue20

I've just been looking at the calories for Macdonalds food and find that a bigmac in UK is 508 cals and in USA 570 cals. The difference is even greater with the fries - UK large portion = 444 cals and USA large portion = 570 cals. I always thought Macdonalds food was the same worldwide but obviously not. What is the difference in the bigmac - just overall bigger bun and patty or richer sauce, more lettuce or what? and why?

amusedmonkey

Interesting. Where I live a big mac is 499 and large fries are 685. Wonder what they put in our fries!

Energy 685 kCal Cholesterol 0 mg Protein 9 g
Total Fat 35 g Sodium 570 mg Vitamin A 0 ug
Saturated Fat 14.2 g Carbohydrate 84 g Vitamin C 0 mg
Trans Fat 0.2 g Dietary Fibre 7 g Calcium 0 mg
Sugars 0 g Iron 1.8 mg

Becca_250

I think the portion sizes are bigger in the US. If you Google "portion sizes McD's worldwide" there's a picture showing the different sized cups. A medium US drink is bigger than a large drink in Japan for example. There are also some interesting pictures on how the portion sizes have increased in the last fifty years!

jacquifrench304

Bread is also slightly different think , and an Aussie large fries is no where near the size of a U.S. Large

ExRelaySprinter

Yes, this^^.
When i visited the US, the portions were so big!
I didn't mind it for the 4 weeks i was there, but i'm glad i live in the UK. Lol

Orphia

I'm in Australia, and am aware of there being discrepancies between countries, so I make sure I add "Australia" when searching MFP for the kilojoule count AND looking up the nutrition info on the Australian website.

avilancaster871

suziecue20 wrote: »

I've just been looking at the calories for Macdonalds food and find that a bigmac in UK is 508 cals and in USA 570 cals. The difference is even greater with the fries - UK large portion = 444 cals and USA large portion = 570 cals. I always thought Macdonalds food was the same worldwide but obviously not. What is the difference in the bigmac - just overall bigger bun and patty or richer sauce, more lettuce or what? and why?

Portion sizes are bigger in the USA then the uk that's where the difference will be x

suziecue20

avilancaster871 wrote: »

suziecue20 wrote: »

I've just been looking at the calories for Macdonalds food and find that a bigmac in UK is 508 cals and in USA 570 cals. The difference is even greater with the fries - UK large portion = 444 cals and USA large portion = 570 cals. I always thought Macdonalds food was the same worldwide but obviously not. What is the difference in the bigmac - just overall bigger bun and patty or richer sauce, more lettuce or what? and why?

Portion sizes are bigger in the USA then the uk that's where the difference will be x

Yes, fair enough but why? does every US citizen have a bigger appetite than citizens in every other country?

DemoraFairy

suziecue20 wrote: »

avilancaster871 wrote: »

suziecue20 wrote: »

I've just been looking at the calories for Macdonalds food and find that a bigmac in UK is 508 cals and in USA 570 cals. The difference is even greater with the fries - UK large portion = 444 cals and USA large portion = 570 cals. I always thought Macdonalds food was the same worldwide but obviously not. What is the difference in the bigmac - just overall bigger bun and patty or richer sauce, more lettuce or what? and why?

Portion sizes are bigger in the USA then the uk that's where the difference will be x

Yes, fair enough but why? does every US citizen have a bigger appetite than citizens in every other country?

Once when I was a kid I asked my dad why portion sizes were so much bigger in the US. He said it's because in the US value for money is very important, more so than in the UK or elsewhere. When you go to a restaurant what costs them money isn't the food itself - it's the chefs, waiters, building, furniture, etc. The actual food costs next to nothing. So to give the illusion of better value for money, they give you more of what costs them nothing - food. So bigger portions become associated with better value for money, so the portions kept getting bigger to compete with other places that looked like they were giving better value for money, until now it's just the norm.

suziecue20

I live in Wales in the UK (I'm English though) and the Welsh people are heavily into 'value for money'. Macdonalds portions are the same as rest of UK though lol

DemoraFairy

suziecue20 wrote: »

I live in Wales in the UK (I'm English though) and the Welsh people are heavily into 'value for money'. Macdonalds portions are the same as rest of UK though lol

Maybe just not as much as the Americans! Haha. Or it just manifested itself in different ways. Or you just get given the same portions as the rest of the UK. Or that isn't the reason at all and my dad was wrong/just saying it to shut me up lol.

suziecue20

Anyway when I have a big mac I can legitimately log it as a 'skinny big mac' lol

Merkavar

mcdonalds as far as im aware is very similar world wide. but the sizes differ. large for me is medium for you for example.

I think some european countries have less sugar in their bread.

TimothyFish

Perhaps, we feed our cows more corn in the US than they do in the UK.

Bacchants

I always thought it was down to the each countries food regulation, like the UK/Europe has a lot more legislation over food and what can/can't go in it etc

Although it could just be down to the 'taste' of each country, eg is Americans prefer a sweeter bun it'd have more sugar in it and so more calories, but the UK prefer it more plain. I'm sure that they focus group each menu item to suit each countries preferences. Like in Japan you can get McRice burgers.

Unknown

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GeddesFit

American portion sizes are larger I've found whenever I visit I always share a meal lol

jgnatca

My sister and I have noted regional and national differences both in food and beauty product formulations. Butter in Ontario for instance is brighter yellow than in Western Canada. I suspect it has to do with what the locals consider "normal".

dizzieblondeuk

jgnatca wrote: »

My sister and I have noted regional and national differences both in food and beauty product formulations. Butter in Ontario for instance is brighter yellow than in Western Canada. I suspect it has to do with what the locals consider "normal".

The colour of butter is directly related to how nutritionally dense it is (and hence how the cows have been allowed to graze - in pastures, or with commercial feed in barns). It's the beta-carotene in the grass that gives butter it's colour. Here in the UK, where all butter is yellow (compared to the strange white butter I've come across in the US!), the shade can change depending on the season. In spring and summer, it's bright yellow, in winter a more muted colour, as the herds are being fed more on silage than fresh grass.

Timelordlady85

Large mcdonalds fries here are 510 calories, not sure on big macs

jgnatca

Well that makes no sense as cattle are nearly all free range here in Alberta. Maybe there's a little carotene supplementation to the butter back east?

cupcakesplz

Australian burgers are getting smaller!

stealthq

McDonald's tailors their food to suit the country. Sometimes it's obvious, like the meals listed here: foodnetwork.co.uk/article/crazy-meals-mcdonalds-menus-around-world.htmlhttp://

Sometimes it's more subtle, like a burger having mayo in the US and not in the other country. Plus, the food sourcing is different depending on country and the laws for nutritional labels differ, too. You'd need to dig a bit deeper to know exactly where the difference lies in this case.

suziecue20

Merkavar wrote: »

mcdonalds as far as im aware is very similar world wide. but the sizes differ. large for me is medium for you for example.

I think some european countries have less sugar in their bread.

The Macdonalds bun in UK has no discernible sweetness, so this is obviously one difference.

yarwell

suziecue20 wrote: »

I've just been looking at the calories for Macdonalds food and find that a bigmac in UK is 508 cals and in USA 570 cals. The difference is even greater with the fries - UK large portion = 444 cals and USA large portion = 570 cals. I always thought Macdonalds food was the same worldwide but obviously not. What is the difference in the bigmac - just overall bigger bun and patty or richer sauce, more lettuce or what? and why?

Look at the macros for the answer.

Also bear in mind we use different labelling and analytical conventions. Fibre / fiber probably has different calorific values for example, UK carbohydrate doesn't include Fiber, etc.

Queenmunchy

stealthq wrote: »

McDonald's tailors their food to suit the country. Sometimes it's obvious, like the meals listed here: foodnetwork.co.uk/article/crazy-meals-mcdonalds-menus-around-world.htmlhttp://

Sometimes it's more subtle, like a burger having mayo in the US and not in the other country. Plus, the food sourcing is different depending on country and the laws for nutritional labels differ, too. You'd need to dig a bit deeper to know exactly where the difference lies in this case.

I was just talking to my brother about how I would totally try everything on the Indian McD menu. McSpicy Paneer? Veg supreme McMuffin? McAloo Tikki? Yum!

yarwell

Large Fries - US first, UK 2nd


US Large French Fries - 5.9 oz (168 g), UK 160 grams so pretty similar.

laineybz

I'm from the UK but was in NYC last week. My boyfriend had a McDonalds twice. The big mac looks the same but the large fries and drinks are alot bigger! There is a better selection of drinks too lol. I had a grilled chicken sandwich which i've never seen in the UK (but then again I haven't been in a few years!) and wish they would introduce over here.

cmtigger

suziecue20 wrote: »

avilancaster871 wrote: »

Yes, fair enough but why? does every US citizen have a bigger appetite than citizens in every other country?

No. I just don't order the bigger sizes.

scyian

Bigger portion sizes. That caught me out when I was in the states as asked for a large coffee and regretted the monster I received. I was wired for the whole trip!

rileysowner

Different portion size, different ingredients. I know the values are different between the US and Canada as well. Some higher, some lower. The differences are based in what would be allowed in their products from country to country, the tastes of the culture, and the like. Frankly, I find there is a noticeable taste difference between Canada and the US when I eat at McDonalds.