Why are US meal portions so big??

ereck44

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!

Yes, thank goodness that most places are offering low cal options and actual nutritional content of their meals. Haven't eaten at McDonald's or other fast food spots in months for that reason. It's crazy how much crap is in our food. Now, I can go out to a restaurant and have better options and know what is going into my body...for the most part.

McDonalds has a few fairly low cal options.

How many of these foods (ESP. McDonald's) were added to the menu after the movie "Supersize Me" . By the way, I am a huge Morgan Spur lock fan! Anyway, thanks for posting!

Mr_Knight

The entire Mcdonalds Value Menu is also in the low-calorie categorie. McDouble and Fries for $2 and 500-ish calories.

Or for the same price you can do the McGangBanger.

redheaddee

Silly me, I thought that my fat @ss was due to the poor food choices and sheer amount of food from any and all sources that I used to shovel into my gaping hole. I am so pleased to see that it is not my fault, but rather the American restaurant for serving huge freaking portions. Excellent, now who can I sue?

Ang108

I kinda want multiple plates of Mexican food now.

I know, I'm feeling really shortchanged here. We've obviously been going to the wrong Mexican restaurants.

The sad part is that I was in Texas for a few months last year, ate Mexican food several times, and still didn't get it on multiple plates. :grumble:

I live in TX, have for my whole life... and yes, you can get mexican entrees on multiple plates. They usually bring the tortillas separately from the fajita meat, which is separate from the "fixin's" (cheese, veggies, etc). pretty common practice here in TX for the fajita meat to be on its own cast iron (very hot) serving skillet, sizzling as it arrives... ok, dinner plans made. cheers!

The last Mexican meal (in the US, I am not from there) I had it was all on one plate and the juice from the beans made my tacos all soggy. I would have preferred separate plates.

Here in Mexico it is frowned upon to have all the food on one plate. Usually the rice is served alone on a plate before the entrée, which comes afterwards with tortillas in an extra container to keep them warm. Only poor people ( who basically live of rice and beans ) and I like to have their rice touch the stew and the beans on the same plate. I can't say, but wonder if this little part of Mexican food culture has maybe some bearing on how Mexican meals are served in the US.

hilts1969

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

whierd

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

I doubt the accuracy.

joshdann

Or for the same price you can do the McGangBanger.

Is that where they just take your money and you get nothing in return? Could be the healthiest way to visit McD's

Deipneus

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.

I don't know how it started but I hate it. Not all U.S. restaurants do it but a lot of them do.

hilts1969

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

I doubt the accuracy.

The north korean times are usualy spot on

Morn66

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

Sorry, I'm callin' BS. The current US population is, if memory serves, about 320 million, about half of which are obese. That makes 160,000,000 obese people in the US. So...are there only a little more than 160,000,000 obese people in a world population of 6 billion? Don't think so, given that India, at least, also has an obesity problem, and the population of India is about 4x that of America.

3dogsrunning

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

I doubt the accuracy.

“Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything. 14% of people know that.”
Homer Simpson

jennifer_417

How else are we supposed to stay so fat? Geez...

pseudomuffin

Depends on what you order & where you eat, my friend!

VBnotbitter

Another person who has lived in the UK and US here. Again only speaking from personal experience I'd say portion sizes vary from restaurant to restaurant rather than by country. Ever gone to a Sunday carvery in the UK and seen the mounds of food people pile their plates with there. Hence why, as stated by the OPs first post, obesity is a problem there as well.

What I have also noticed is that rude and obnoxious people are found every where as well, though what it is about this thread which seems to be drawing them in, I'm not sure. For the record Otter has amazingly strong and defined arms and Whierd is erudite and perspicacious

hilts1969

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

Sorry, I'm callin' BS. The current US population is, if memory serves, about 320 million, about half of which are obese. That makes 160,000,000 obese people in the US. So...are there only a little more than 160,000,000 obese people in a world population of 6 billion? Don't think so, given that India, at least, also has an obesity problem, and the population of India is about 4x that of America.

In fairness it also said that americans also had the lowest tolerance to sarcasm in the developed world, i think these north koreans may be making these things up

TheRealParisLove

1. The US government subsidizes food production, making food crazy cheap (but not of good quality).
2. Americans have been conditioned to think that bigger is better. Bigger and cheaper is best.
3. To get smaller portions we have to pay more. For instance, if you want your meal split with half in a box to go, or wish to share your meal with your dinner mate, there is a surcharge of $1 or more at most establishments.
4. At fast food places the surcharge for smaller portions can double the price of the meal due to the increased labor cost in a custom order. Just try getting a half-sized banana split at Dairy Queen. It'll cost you nearly $9 to buy the individual ingredients.
5. We kind of like it this way.

I'm in Texas, and I almost always go splits on food with friends and I've never been charged a buck to do it. Maybe that's specific to certain regions.

There are a couple places here though where you have to bring your own wine if you want wine and they charge you a few bucks to open it and that chaps me a little. lol

Here in Oregon, most places, even fast food joints, have a wine list, lol! We're like Napa Valley North. :drinker:

jayjay12345654321

Here in Mexico it is frowned upon to have all the food on one plate. Usually the rice is served alone on a plate before the entrée, which comes afterwards with tortillas in an extra container to keep them warm. Only poor people ( who basically live of rice and beans ) and I like to have their rice touch the stew and the beans on the same plate. I can't say, but wonder if this little part of Mexican food culture has maybe some bearing on how Mexican meals are served in the US.

I figured it had to do with South Texas' proximity to Mexico and the high Hispanic population in the Valley region. I've been to a "Mexican" restaurant in Canada. They had never heard of enchiladas. Makes me wonder how far off we are on other cultures like Thai food that aren't even on the same continent.

Mr_Starr

I have noticed a race by lower and mid range restaurants - especially chains - to give bigger and bigger portions. Now days i just divide the plate by a half or even a third before i start eating. I then leave the rest to be thrown away. The only real "problem" is that i usually don't want to pack up what I did not eat. Sometimes my dinner companions, or even the "servers" seem to get terribly offended when I don't want to pack up the leftovers. For restaurants that serve massive portions, the food really isn't that inspiring to want to eat again. Also when travelling it is just inconvenient and i am forced to go back to hotel to store it. The same at home i guess... It is difficult to go on with your evening when you have to carry the leftovers with you for the night.

The good news is I see things are changing. A number of local "non-chain" restaurants are starting to serve "right size" meals. At least here in the NW ( Portland , Seattle, San Francisco/Bay Area ) there is a trend towards "small plates" options.

pseudomuffin

A recent survey stated that 98% of the worlds obese population were american, this is quite shocking if you think about it. most users on this site appear to be from the US so maybe things are changing

I doubt the accuracy.

Ooh, let me help. :smokin:

If y'all want some statistics, here's the obesity % per population of the world. The US led last year but Mexico and the UK are catching up. (1)



Also, according to the World Health Organization, "In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese." (2)

As of 2012 the US population estimated around 313,914,040. I'm not good at math but if 30.6% of people in the US are obese and that number amounts to 98% of the world obesity numbers, there's more than 7 billion people who are in a healthy weight range in the world (the estimated current world population being 7,111,379,600 as of 7:51 PM CST (3)

So your "recent survey" can go suck eggs.

Citations:

1: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
2: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
3: http://www.census.gov/popclock/

ziggiezambi

I like large proportions in restaurants! I eat what I can there and the rest goes in a "to go" box and I eat it later on. That's the best part a meal to eat later.