Macdonalds - USA and UK - Why the difference?

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suziecue20
suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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?
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  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    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
    Becca_250 Posts: 188 Member
    edited September 2015
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    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
    jacquifrench304 Posts: 131 Member
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    Bread is also slightly different think , and an Aussie large fries is no where near the size of a U.S. Large
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
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    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
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    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
    avilancaster871 Posts: 147 Member
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    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
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    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
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited September 2015
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    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
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    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
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    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
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    Anyway when I have a big mac I can legitimately log it as a 'skinny big mac' lol
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    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
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Perhaps, we feed our cows more corn in the US than they do in the UK.
  • Bacchants
    Bacchants Posts: 92 Member
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    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.
  • GeddesFit
    GeddesFit Posts: 75 Member
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    American portion sizes are larger I've found whenever I visit I always share a meal lol
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    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
    dizzieblondeuk Posts: 286 Member
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    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
    Timelordlady85 Posts: 797 Member
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    Large mcdonalds fries here are 510 calories, not sure on big macs
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    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?

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