What ethnicity/culture has the most calorie-dense food?

lorrpb
lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
Recently I've seen a lot of posts from people complaining that they can't lose weight because "I'm X culture and our food is high in calories." I've seen this stated regarding food from Greece, Mexico, India, and the Dominican Republic, to name a few. Which country/culture/ethnicity do you think has the most calorie-dense food and why? And to add a positive tone, you can add suggestions about how to keep the flavor and reduce the calories, if you want to.

Replies

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    edited July 2017
    I'd also say Pacific Islanders and Maoris. Type two diabetes is a huge problem along with obesity. And obesity is a desired thing particularly with Islanders.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    maxhan231 wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian

    You do realize there are many various regions in the US, right?

    Right, but you can say that of a lot of countries...

    But there's also a concept of quintessential American food, which is what I think he means.

    Cheese hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs... all very calorie dense

    Yup. I didn't say you couldn't though.

    I don't really see those foods as "quintessential American" though. Hence saying what I said.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    edited July 2017
    German....mmmmm.... sausages.
    And beer.
  • work_on_it
    work_on_it Posts: 251 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Soul food cooking is pretty tasty but calorific.

    Yes. It is laden with fat, lard, sugar, mayo, etc. It is also tastes the best :blush:
  • PrincessTinyheart
    PrincessTinyheart Posts: 679 Member
    I'd say Indian cuisine is by and large extremely rich and fattening. Yes, there are some dishes like chicken tandoori and some soups that are lower in calories, but most of the stuff in Indian restaurants is highly caloric. Must be one of the reasons why it's so magically delicious :)
  • PrincessTinyheart
    PrincessTinyheart Posts: 679 Member
    maxhan231 wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian

    You do realize there are many various regions in the US, right?

    Right, but you can say that of a lot of countries...

    But there's also a concept of quintessential American food, which is what I think he means.

    Cheese hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs... all very calorie dense

    Ahhh... Comfort food that was invented (or revamped) in the U.S. Yes, it's definitely high in calories.

    Just about everything you'd by at any state fair in the U.S. will blow your diet right out of the water.
  • nevadavis1
    nevadavis1 Posts: 331 Member
    PrincessTinyheart wrote: »
    I'd say Indian cuisine is by and large extremely rich and fattening. Yes, there are some dishes like chicken tandoori and some soups that are lower in calories, but most of the stuff in Indian restaurants is highly caloric. Must be one of the reasons why it's so magically delicious :)

    That's funny because I always think of vegetarian when I think of the food most Indian people I know actually eat, as opposed to restaurant Indian food which is different. Many Indian people I know are vegetarian and quite slim.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited July 2017
    I think probably most of them haha. I'm Italian and we do a really nice number on calories at any function, even being careful. Pretty sure any time you combine a social gathering of any ethnicity the dishes tend to be more calorie dense than normal.

    ETA: Growing up my parents tended to cook and serve a lot of things I still eat regularly on a 'normal ' day but the portion sizes were just so incorrect lol.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    maxhan231 wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »
    American... Unfortunately
    Rather United Statesian

    You do realize there are many various regions in the US, right?

    Right, but you can say that of a lot of countries...

    But there's also a concept of quintessential American food, which is what I think he means.

    Cheese hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs... all very calorie dense

    Isn't a cheese hamburger a cheeseburger? Anyway, a hamburger (which is what I normally eat) is not necessarily calorie dense, and cheese is pretty common access many cultures.

    Mac & cheese doesn't seem specifically American. Kraft dinner seems to be even more popular in Canada (from MFP research), the more caloric version of the dish is either specifically southern or a special treat or both, and anyway noodles with a cheese sauce involving a roux is hardly US specific.

    Beyond that, I'd say what's REALLY quintessential American food is meat, potatoes, veg (and that's not US specific either, of course, but it's how a traditional US dinner is built). Maybe sandwiches (but they are very popular in many cultures), maybe cereal (same, these days). There are regional specialties and variations.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    PrincessTinyheart wrote: »
    I'd say Indian cuisine is by and large extremely rich and fattening. Yes, there are some dishes like chicken tandoori and some soups that are lower in calories, but most of the stuff in Indian restaurants is highly caloric. Must be one of the reasons why it's so magically delicious :)

    This would be the bastardised British version of Indian cuisine. Real deal isn't anywhere near the same.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    Inuit traditional diet.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit_cuisine


    Heart disease was reduced when the Inuit incorporated food from farther south.

    I was hoping that someone would say Inuit when I saw this thread title!
  • okohjacinda
    okohjacinda Posts: 329 Member
    I'm from South Carolina and Jersey so I know two cultures very distinctly that is caloric...Italian and southern home cooked food.

    Whenever I go to Jersey, I can't help but get an Italian hoagie sub, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, philly cheese steak, and Stromboli. Not all at once though.

    I'm back in S.C. now and the first six months back was hell for me. I gained almost 60lbs eating southern home cooked meals like macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, etc.

    I am now starting to get my eating under control and back to eating healthy again.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    PrincessTinyheart wrote: »
    I'd say Indian cuisine is by and large extremely rich and fattening. Yes, there are some dishes like chicken tandoori and some soups that are lower in calories, but most of the stuff in Indian restaurants is highly caloric. Must be one of the reasons why it's so magically delicious :)
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    PrincessTinyheart wrote: »
    I'd say Indian cuisine is by and large extremely rich and fattening. Yes, there are some dishes like chicken tandoori and some soups that are lower in calories, but most of the stuff in Indian restaurants is highly caloric. Must be one of the reasons why it's so magically delicious :)

    This would be the bastardised British version of Indian cuisine. Real deal isn't anywhere near the same.

    I don't know... we had some Indian contractors who came over to visit our offices. They cooked dinner for us and the amounts of oil used to cook their dishes was extraordinary. Definitely not low fat or low calorie in anything they made.

    Of course westernized Chinese food is ridiculously high in fat and calories and it's nothing like the actual food Chinese people eat.

    Same with the fancy "specialty" sushi that are calorie bombs. I hosted a Japanese exchange student and she said they don't eat anything like that in Japan.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    I don't think it has to do with culture. I think it has to do with McDonalds (and other fast food). All cultures are having this problem.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    I don't think it has to do with culture. I think it has to do with McDonalds (and other fast food). All cultures are having this problem.

    What does McDonald's have to do with anything? :huh:
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,227 Member
    edited July 2017
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    I don't think it has to do with culture. I think it has to do with McDonalds (and other fast food). All cultures are having this problem.

    This has nothing to do with the question that's being asked.

    A lot of the food in Scandanavian countries are very high cal, they're supposed to be hearty and stick to your ribs in the enduring cold.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,399 Member
    I have no idea, but from my travels I'd say every "Western" country I've been to has some serious calorie bombs in there! Overall the leanest seeming regional diet would probably have to have been Okinawa. I can't think of much of anything common over there that was really calorie dense.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    I think pretty much every culture has high calorie foods ... probably easier to list the cultures with generally low calorie diets.
  • sobiakhatoon
    sobiakhatoon Posts: 128 Member
    I'm Indian and I think it's safe for me to say that Indian food is high in calories specially the Mughal cuisine. Biryani, butter chicken and we eat a lot of rice
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