Why are US meal portions so big??

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lynnerack
lynnerack Posts: 158 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've just returned from a holiday in California and was amazed at the portion sizes on all the meals I had when eating in restaurants. I mentioned this to an American friend and he just replied that the US was the land of plenty and they had to support their farmers. He then left half of his stack of pancakes and it was thrown away - what is the sense of that?? Portions in the UK are much smaller and yet we have a weight problem here too.
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Replies

  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    The meals are larger because the market responds to what the consumers want,
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
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    Haha I know what you mean, the portion sizes are ridiculous here. I guess its because people demand it and the restaurants want to bring in more people with the all you can eat buffets and giant portion sizes. What's good is that most restaurants nowadays, even fast food places, now offer healthy options as well (i.e. salads instead of fries, etc) so if you're conscious about things like that you generally will have some options. But I agree the portion sizes here are pretty ridiculous haha!
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
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    nationalistic thread is nationalistic.

    i know it's popular in Europe to take potshots at the USA whenever and wherever possible, but just because you ate one meal in one restaurant and got a dumb explanation from one friend, does not mean that such an assertion (as found in your thread title) is universally true.

    go to an expensive foo-foo restaurant in NYC and you'll find much smaller (and more expensive portions).

    go to a pub in rural England and you'll find large portion sizes.

    there is no government agency in either country that enforces a mandatory minimum portion size for restaurants. every restaurant and chef is different and has different standards.
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
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    American size 10 for a lady is.. slim, here in UK you are 14-16 and overweight. It's a different world.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    nationalistic thread is nationalistic.

    i know it's popular in Europe to take potshots at the USA whenever and wherever possible, but just because you ate one meal in one restaurant and got a dumb explanation from one friend, does not mean that such an assertion (as found in your thread title) is universally true.

    go to an expensive foo-foo restaurant in NYC and you'll find much smaller (and more expensive portions).

    go to a pub in rural England and you'll find large portion sizes.

    there is no government agency in either country that enforces a mandatory minimum portion size for restaurants. every restaurant and chef is different and has different standards.

    True.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
    Options
    nationalistic thread is nationalistic.

    i know it's popular in Europe to take potshots at the USA whenever and wherever possible, but just because you ate one meal in one restaurant and got a dumb explanation from one friend, does not mean that such an assertion (as found in your thread title) is universally true.

    go to an expensive foo-foo restaurant in NYC and you'll find much smaller (and more expensive portions).

    go to a pub in rural England and you'll find large portion sizes.

    there is no government agency in either country that enforces a mandatory minimum portion size for restaurants. every restaurant and chef is different and has different standards.

    That is a good point, oftentimes the more you pay, the less you get of a higher quality food. And then there are all you can eat buffets who charge $10/head for lower quality food in massive quantities.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    American size 10 for a lady is.. slim, here in UK you are 14-16 and overweight. It's a different world.

    That is funny, because sizing varies quite a bit.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    Haha I know what you mean, the portion sizes are ridiculous here. I guess its because people demand it and the restaurants want to bring in more people with the all you can eat buffets and giant portion sizes. What's good is that most restaurants nowadays, even fast food places, now offer healthy options as well (i.e. salads instead of fries, etc) so if you're conscious about things like that you generally will have some options. But I agree the portion sizes here are pretty ridiculous haha!

    The thing I hate about all you can eat buffets is that I have a small appetite, and although I eat a healthy amount throughout the day, I cannot eat much in a single sitting. So I feel like I am not getting my money's worth. lol. I just try to taste a tiny bit of everything and make it into one small plate.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Where I live (Bahrain) the American restaurants like Friday's and Chilli's do very large portion sizes, but that's fine by me, I eat until I'm full in the restaurant, then take the rest home in a box and have another one or two meals from it. I get two or three meals for the price of one.

    I don't think it's just the USA though.... most British curry houses do huge portion sizes, plus it's not really going out for a curry unless you have a large pile of poppadoms as a starter and at least two side dishes with your main course..... and one curry house in Birmingham sells naan breads the size of a table. No exaggeration. And they're advertised as naan bread for four. Naan bread for 2-3 families more like! But anyway, the USA does not have a monopoly on large portion sizes.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
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    nationalistic thread is nationalistic.

    i know it's popular in Europe to take potshots at the USA whenever and wherever possible, but just because you ate one meal in one restaurant and got a dumb explanation from one friend, does not mean that such an assertion (as found in your thread title) is universally true.

    go to an expensive foo-foo restaurant in NYC and you'll find much smaller (and more expensive portions).

    go to a pub in rural England and you'll find large portion sizes.

    there is no government agency in either country that enforces a mandatory minimum portion size for restaurants. every restaurant and chef is different and has different standards.

    That is a good point, oftentimes the more you pay, the less you get of a higher quality food. And then there are all you can eat buffets who charge $10/head for lower quality food in massive quantities.

    i'll bet a Big Mac in the UK is exactly the same size as a Big Mac in the USA, but of course that'll just be dismissed as the exception that proves the rule... :facepalm:
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    This is what gets me. I'm old enough to remember when restaurant meals were the same size as some of today's appetizer plates. I mean really, you can get a plate of "appetizers" costing $9.00 and it will fill you up.

    What also gets me is the restaurants that "supersize" ,,, 5 dollar footlong Subway for $5.00 and the 6 inch for $4.75 but if i eat the footlong it will be too much. I dont care about the 25 cents savings to buy a whole bunch of other food i dont need.

    Also, if you want a medium soda, at the theatre, they say $3.00, but for 50 cents more you can get a humungous size. Again, the extra size is not wanted.

    i was at a restaurant which gives large portions for the money..which is good if you want that.. however, I just wanted an appetizer of 3 shrimp and rissoto. The guy tried to talk me into getting a lunch plate which was better value. but it ended up too much. so he was trying to give me the "better value" but its not what i wanted... i wanted portion control.. with just the smaller items.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
    Options
    nationalistic thread is nationalistic.

    i know it's popular in Europe to take potshots at the USA whenever and wherever possible, but just because you ate one meal in one restaurant and got a dumb explanation from one friend, does not mean that such an assertion (as found in your thread title) is universally true.

    go to an expensive foo-foo restaurant in NYC and you'll find much smaller (and more expensive portions).

    go to a pub in rural England and you'll find large portion sizes.

    there is no government agency in either country that enforces a mandatory minimum portion size for restaurants. every restaurant and chef is different and has different standards.

    That is a good point, oftentimes the more you pay, the less you get of a higher quality food. And then there are all you can eat buffets who charge $10/head for lower quality food in massive quantities.

    i'll bet a Big Mac in the UK is exactly the same size as a Big Mac in the USA, but of course that'll just be dismissed as the exception that proves the rule... :facepalm:

    Anything to trash talk America, eh? And WE are called the arrogant ones.
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    Haha I know what you mean, the portion sizes are ridiculous here. I guess its because people demand it and the restaurants want to bring in more people with the all you can eat buffets and giant portion sizes. What's good is that most restaurants nowadays, even fast food places, now offer healthy options as well (i.e. salads instead of fries, etc) so if you're conscious about things like that you generally will have some options. But I agree the portion sizes here are pretty ridiculous haha!

    The thing I hate about all you can eat buffets is that I have a small appetite, and although I eat a healthy amount throughout the day, I cannot eat much in a single sitting. So I feel like I am not getting my money's worth. lol. I just try to taste a tiny bit of everything and make it into one small plate.

    oh the buffets are a trip.. me and my bff went to a great buffet $20 for absolutely the best buffet because they had a lot of various seafood (clams, shrimp).. and bbq ribs,, well this one table were piling on just about all the bbq ribs as if there was going to be no more ever. we couldn't even get 2 ribs!!! HOGS!!! grrrr... i hate when people fill up a plate as if the food is going to run out and then you cant get even one or two pieces grrrr... by the way, this is the Horseshoe Casino buffet in Hammond, IN. I haven't gone there in a while, but i mean they have a whole display case of desserts that you think you're in a bakery.
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
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    What I found quite interesting after a recent trip to North America is how "in your face" all the fast food chain restaurant signs are! No avoiding dunkin donuts, Macdonalds, Wendy's etc etc...HUGE signs everywhere...it made even this non-junk food loving Brit's mouth water....honestly, imho, with such huge signs the average junk-food loving person dosnt stand a chance!!
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    I've just returned from a holiday in California and was amazed at the portion sizes on all the meals I had when eating in restaurants. I mentioned this to an American friend and he just replied that the US was the land of plenty and they had to support their farmers. He then left half of his stack of pancakes and it was thrown away - what is the sense of that?? Portions in the UK are much smaller and yet we have a weight problem here too.

    Apparently you were not introduced to each type of restaurant in the U.S.A.

    It is really sad when a person takes one experience with one friend and generalizes for an entire country. :ohwell:
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
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    American size 10 for a lady is.. slim, here in UK you are 14-16 and overweight. It's a different world.

    American size 10 long on my 5'8" frame IS slim. My hip bones wouldn't fit in anything smaller than an 8. Different people have different body types, doesn't matter what country you're from.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    What I found quite interesting after a recent trip to North America is how "in your face" all the fast food chain restaurant signs are! No avoiding dunkin donuts, Macdonalds, Wendy's etc etc...HUGE signs everywhere...it made even this non-junk food loving Brit's mouth water....honestly, imho, with such huge signs the average junk-food loving person dosnt stand a chance!!

    That is just the status quo for marketing here. It is meant to grab your attention. Live here a few years and you will barely notice them.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    What I found quite interesting after a recent trip to North America is how "in your face" all the fast food chain restaurant signs are! No avoiding dunkin donuts, Macdonalds, Wendy's etc etc...HUGE signs everywhere...it made even this non-junk food loving Brit's mouth water....honestly, imho, with such huge signs the average junk-food loving person dosnt stand a chance!!

    Because signs have hands and grab you and force feed you food????? I'm sorry....I don't get the connection. Small signs, big signs, North America, Britain.....we all have free will and can choose what we eat.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    yeah I agree with you they are way to big. When in a restaurant I normally just order from the side order stuff (which is generally smaller). A lot of people just want a lot of food. Makes since why we got fat eh lol
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    Not sure if serious.

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