# Huge American portion size: Fact or Myth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689 "2006-01-12T18:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/21 "2006-01-12T22:54:41Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Walking a mile only burns a hundred calories. For the average American meal that wouldn’t even burn off the calories you got from the drink. I think the primary reason that regular exercise is supposed to make such a huge difference in fighting obesity is not the direct energy expediture of the exercise itself so much as the boost to your metabolism. So walking 30 minutes a day is far more effective for weight loss than walking 6 hours twice a month, even if the total energy cost is the same. Thus if you walk regularly, you’ll end up burning off a lot more than 100 calories/mile. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/22 "2006-01-12T23:05:40Z")
I have just got back from a week trying to drink New England dry - well, mainly Boston and Portland (Maine). The egregious Jez and I tended to eat mainly in bars and brewpubs and I would say that the portions in _most_ places were significantly larger than those offered by similar establishments in the UK and Ireland. Special mention, however, must be made of [$3Deweys](http://www.3dollardeweys.com/) in Portland, not only for the quality and quantity of beers available but also for the reasonable sizes of the food portions (the food was excellent, too). But I tend, like **jiimm** , to return from the USA significantly lardier than when I arrived, and I am not one whose weight normally fluctuates by more than a few pounds either side of the 10 stone/140 lbs mark. And I walked a hell of a lot last week, despite the snow. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/23 "2006-01-12T23:13:55Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > I have just got back from a week trying to drink New England dry You’re supposed to drink Canada Dry. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/24 "2006-01-12T23:14:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > In fairness to us Brits (and the Irish too), the trad cardiac-arrest-in-a breakfast is a special treat. I would tend only to go for the “full English” once at the weekend after a big night on the booze - and not every weekend at that. Most of us just eat cereal or toast. > > Whereas the French and Italians, for example, usually eat the tiniest of breakfasts - something like a single croissant or a little bit of cake respectively, not something on which I’d be able to last until lunchtime. I fully agree with all this…the one time I’m _guaranteed_ to eat a full English, no matter what time of day or night, plus a gallon of tea, is after returning from the continent. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/25 "2006-01-12T23:33:56Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I would guess that parents think more about giving their kid a bag of chips if it costs 2 instead of .30 $.30 for a bag of chips from a machine? You must be a time traveler from the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/26 "2006-01-12T23:40:34Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Ummm…no on the diet soda remark. Almost all diet sodas have no calories because they use artificial sweeteners. No calories means no net weight gain. I’ve heard the argument that diet soda contibutes to overweight because some drinkers of it think that ‘entitles’ them to consume more calories from other sources, and generally overcompensate. Perhaps that’s the basis of **EuroMDguy’s** claim here, though only he can tell us for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/27 "2006-01-12T23:47:18Z")
I was in Germany for a year, admittedly a long time ago, and my impression was that restaurants served about as much over there as they did over here at the time. This was mainly in the sorts of places where you could get a whole plate of food and a glass of wine for, like, 7 or 8DM in the 1970s. Judging by my experience with higher-quality Italian and French restaurants over here, where the meal is usually ordered and served in several courses, the individual portions do tend to be quite small, but then you’re probably getting four courses including salad and desert, so it seems to even out more or less. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/28 "2006-01-12T23:48:44Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > So, I just returned from several weeks in Paris and norther nFrance (yes, thank you, it was wonderful; lovely country, fabulous city). And I ate in a ton of restaurants. I go to France fairly often and my wife has been at least once a year since she was little. I never experienced anything like you report. Actually once I did. Did they seat you in an restaurant area with other Americans and English menus some of the time? Paris has a number of huge ripoff restaurants where they segregate Americans and give them “special” food and prices. We got seated in the American section of the restaurant once and we asked to be moved midway through. It had high priced menus, mediocre food, and less then authentic french cuisine. Even though that was the only time that we got chosen to be seated in one of those, I have seen it happen to other Americans as they got picked out of line and led off to their special treat. My wife speaks French fluently and knows the culture as well as her own but Parisians can be both accommodating and condescending at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/29 "2006-01-12T23:57:16Z")
My experience in France a few years ago was that the portion sizes in good restaurants were definitely smaller, but the portion was perfect. I’d get served a plate of food and think, oh, wow, I’m gonna be really hungry later. When I’d finished leisurely completing the meal, I’d realize that I really was not hungry any more. Or that maybe I could enjoy a small portion of fruit or other dessert. In contrast, here in the U S of A, I find that most of the time I have to really watch it in order to stop eating at the right time. As long as there’s tasty food on the plate, I tend to want to finish it, even if some objective thought would tell me I am not really hungry any more. I also agree that many (certainly not all) Americans eat too fast. Especially my husband, who spent his youth starving in Europe after WWII. Also, many (certainly not all) Americans will tell you how great a restaurant was, and their main praise is the huge size of the portions. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/30 "2006-01-13T00:07:31Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > $.30 for a bag of chips from a machine? > > You must be a time traveler from the 1970s. Not from a machine but those lunchbox size ones that according to [albertsons.com](http://albertsons.com) are 8.99 for 24 bags. (.37, sorry). The same size bags were 2-3 euros. Even chips out of an airport snack machine in the US aren’t anywhere near that expensive. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/31 "2006-01-13T03:25:25Z")
If anyone thinks that portion sizes in France and England are too small, try taking a trip through Eastern Europe. When I traveled to Prague in 2001, I was amazed by how small the portions were. They cut out a steak or fish fillet that’s about three square inches, and give you a spoonful of choppped vegetables on the side. Then again the meals are remarkably cheap, so I suppose you get what you pay for. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/32 "2006-01-13T06:11:43Z")
So, how’s your French toast? Someone’s gotta get this one, I just know it ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/33 "2006-01-13T06:25:46Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > I do notice a difference between Canada and the States. A few years ago Mr. AFG and I went to visit some friends in North Carolina and stopped at a Denny’s in Virginia for breakfast. I ordered 2 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, 2 pieces of toast, and a coffee. The waitress looked at me in disbelief and said, “Light eater, are we?” My arteries just slammed shut in horror. Breakfast for me is a couple of pieces of toast, two or three cups of coffee, and a piece of fruit or two. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/34 "2006-01-13T07:25:07Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I was always under the impression that Europeans ate out much less frequently than Americans. I’ve nothing to back that up, though, so take it with a grain of salt. I was living in Germany for awhile a year or so ago and I noticed I tended to take home leftovers about as often as I do in the States. If you go out to dinner, it’s definitely a meal. You aren’t going to go home hungry. I’ve had _many_ a plate of pasta I couldn’t make it half way through. But you’re right, I don’t think they eat out as often. Or at least when they eat out, it isn’t always a full-on meal the way American’s tend to expect every meal to be. Germans seem to spend a lot of time at cafe-type places, but they aren’t always having a full course meal while they’re there. They might just be having coffee or a beer, and socializing with friends. Then go home and cook dinner. Going to a Denny’s for breakfast and getting a Mega Meat Lover’s Grand Slam Skillet Scramble Supreme is something you just don’t see much in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/35 "2006-01-13T09:38:36Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > But that would be interventionist, so I’m sure the French government would eschew such a policy mightily. 😉 Which brings us neatly on to the only guaranteed method for weight loss: eschew your food properly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/36 "2006-01-13T10:37:03Z")
I’m probably alone in this. When I eat dinner out at home I probably won’t be hungry the next day, so usually skip breakfast and lunch the day after a big meal. On holiday I try to eat like the locals, and I usually don’t put on weight, but that’s because we do a lot of walking. In Italy it means a cappucino and a roll for breakfast, something light (a slice of pizza, a salad) for lunch and a full dinner (3 courses- skipping either antipasti or pudding, depending on my mood) eaten over about 2 hours. In France that’s a coffee and croissant, half a baguette with cheese for lunch and 3 courses for dinner, again if I’m not hungry I’ll skip pudding or a starter… I’ll probably leave something on my plate at each course. Fizzy soft drinks with food is a no-no. Water, fruit juice, tea, coffee, wine or beer only. My experience of American food is restricted to 4 hours waiting in LAX. I ordered a small portion of french fries, and was only able to eat half of it. The waiter was terribly concerned that I might not be feeling well or that there was something wrong with the food. There wasn’t, the portion was just too big. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/37 "2006-01-13T11:07:22Z")
I grew up in Canada, where, when eating at just about any restaurant, the portions are sufficiently small that you had room for dessert at the end. Since I moved to the US nearly eight years ago, I have not been able to have dessert even once. There is a massive amount of food served here for meals in restaurants. We bring home the other half that we couldn’t possibly eat, all the time. ---
**Author:** ![yingtongtiddleipo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f6c823/32.png) [@yingtongtiddleipo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yingtongtiddleipo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/38 "2006-01-13T11:16:00Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > Are my impressions of the Parisian (and by extension European) dining scene correct? Or was I only presented one facet? Do people at home eat as much as they do in restaurants? Why so much food? > > At this point, I’m thinking that the reason Americans are so fat is because after our dinner at Applebee’s we haul our carcasses to the car, drive home and flop on the couch as opposed to walking a mile back to our flat after a meal. EuroDopers, what say you? Do you have the perception that Americans eat a lot compared to diners in your own country? Here’s an interesting article from the Observer Food Monthly on the ‘French Paradox’ i.e. Why Les Frenchies can pack away the calorie-laden food, while still slipping into their teeny sized Chanel. It goes into comparative eating habits of the US/UK including portion size, eating out etc. > **[Mimi Spencer takes a look at French women's eating habits](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/nov/07/foodanddrink.features11)** > > They don't diet and they don't spend hours panting round the gym. So how can French women put away as much ice-cream, rich pastries and steak frites as they want and yet stay so slim? Mimi Spencer gets her teeth into the 'French paradox', which has... Some of the points is raises are that the French/Europeans… A) Prefer to prepare unprocessed foods - therefore avoiding e-numbers, hormones, GM foods, additives etc. B) Spend a greater amount of time eating and discussing the food they eat - it is a national pastime. C)Prefer quality over quantity - one square of dark real chocolate over a bar of processed ‘milk’ chocolate, for example. D)Have smaller portion control (quote from the article) "Mean portion size in Philadelphia was about 25 per cent greater than in Paris. Philadelphia’s Chinese restaurants served 72 per cent more than the Parisian ones. A supermarket soft drink in the US was 52 per cent larger, a hotdog 63 per cent larger, a carton of yoghurt 82 per cent larger. " Well worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/39 "2006-01-13T12:37:50Z")
Just take a quick jaunt up to Canada to get a sense of the large quantities of food served as part of an American meal. Even, for example, a single Tim Horton’s doughnut seems small. All of my colleagues commented on how much smaller the serving sizes were at the restaurants we went to. Nope - no two ways about it. We are big fatties here in America and we love us some super sizin’. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/40 "2006-01-13T12:55:29Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > we love us some super sizin’. It’s also down to individual choice in the same restaurant. Just the other day in BK in Phuket, Thailand, our eat-in order got mixed up with the take-away order of the American couple in front of us. **mrs jjimm** had ordered a cheeseburger and I a regular Whopper. The Yanks had already left when we picked up their order in error. **mrs jjimm** ended up with a double cheeseburger, while I ended up with a double Whopper _cheeseburger with bacon_. Since we were hungry and the error diddled them not us, and they hadn’t returned, we decided not to complain, and eat the big stuff instead. **mrs jjimm** just about forced hers down, while I managed about half of my burger before I had to give up due to stomach ache. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689.md?page=3)