# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/41 "2006-01-13T12:56:13Z")
When I was a child, my mother never made me clean my plate. As long as I was full and happy, it didn’t matter what was left over. Most other kids were encouraged to eat everything given to them, regardless of whether they were full or not. I think this sort of thing lays the foundation for adulthood – you go to a restaurant and get a gigantic plate of food, and try your darndest to eat it all, even if you may be poping after the first pound or two. To this day I almost never finish an entire plate of food when I eat out, and I have to take home doggy bags. I’m happier (and healthier) eating till I’m sated, rather than stuffing myself. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/42 "2006-01-13T13:02:14Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > 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’. Canadian portions are smaller than American ones? When I went to Canada I was nearly sick trying to finish the meal I bought from a McDonalds there. God only know how big the American version would be, then! ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/43 "2006-01-13T13:33:32Z")
I’ve never been into the whole giant-portion thing myself, so actually I didn’t notice a huge difference after moving from the US to Canada. In most things, that is. The two that really struck me were smaller large sodas and smaller bagels. Granted, Montreal-style bagels are pretty dense, but still… I should take a picture sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/44 "2006-01-13T13:35:30Z")
Has anyone here ever actually ever eaten a “croque madame” in a Bistro? It’s a ham & cheese sandwich grilled in butter, with mayonnaise, on a piece of bread the size of a plate. They fry an egg and place it on top of the sandwich. They recommend eating a Philly Cheese Steak to clear out your arteries after having one. At my brother-in-law’s mom’s house, in the cognac region, after bread and soup, and some kind of weird jelly pie, I’m full BEFORE the meat course even arrives. Now, we’re having cheese and dessert? Have you had a _pain chocolate aux aumondes_? This HAS to be the caloric equivalent of 2 Krispy Kremes. Maybe I just don’t pig out in America like some people do, but there’s definitely more going on than just portion control when it comes to the traditional French thinness. My brother-in-law claims that having red wine with cheese after a meal helps keep people thin. I think that’s a pretty dubious claim. ---
**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 13, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/45 "2006-01-13T14:39:19Z")
I got yer ‘huge American portion’! _Right here!_ I’ve been trying not to post that since the thread started. But I couldn’t resist anymore. When I was in Florence in 1982 my friend and I each had a plate of pasta for dinner. The people at the table next to us (locals) ate and ate and ate. It was amazing the amount of food the waitstaff brought out! My favourite pub, Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica, has two sizes of fish’n’chips: King Size and Queen Size. The former has two pieces of fish, and the latter has one piece. I can finish the Queen Size, including the chips. But if I try to tackle the King Size I have to leave half of my chips. (Or, since the last time I went there was for a DopeFest, I have chips left over to build a pirate ship. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/46 "2006-01-13T14:46:05Z")
All I know is this: my dad went on a business trip to Boston. When he got back, I asked him how America was like, to which he replied “Lobsters! Lobsters big as man!”. He had a great time. ---
**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 13, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/47 "2006-01-13T14:50:00Z")
> [@cactus waltz](#): > > he replied “Lobsters! Lobsters big as man!”. I used to work with a guy who had been 2nd Skipper on a dive boat in San Diego. He had a photo of himself holding a lobster he caught off of San Nicholas Island. The head was at chest level, and the tail was down at his knees. I went to Boston once on business. A woman in a convenience store noticed my West Coast accent and asked, ‘How do you find Boston?’ I told her, ‘You just take off from LAX and fly East!’ She laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/48 "2006-01-13T15:51:15Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Maybe I just don’t pig out in America like some people do, but there’s definitely more going on than just portion control when it comes to the traditional French thinness. Yeah, this seems to be shaping up to be why I was so shocked by the French portion sizes: I just don’t eat as much as people think Americans should, nor do I go to these fabled “80 pounds of food for one person” restaurants here in the States. So it must just be me, because no way no how were the portion sizes in any of the probably 30 separate restaurants I ate in in Paris and Caen smaller than I would see in any normal American restaurant. And **Shagnasty** , no, we weren’t served in “American” sections, I never received a menu with any English on it, let alone one entirely in English. Maybe they realized I was American and gave me double-sized potions. But all of the assumedly French people (they were speaking French, with a much better accent than mine) around me where getting the same portions. Maybe **clairobscur** can clarify (heh) this. I can definitely list restaurants I ate at, and what I had, if anyone’s interested. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/49 "2006-01-13T17:30:29Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > 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. Well that is what I mean - I know that diet sodas have zero calories. I wasn’t referring to the caloric count of diet sodas, but more hinting at the fact that sodas in general are considered not healthy. And that the chemical additions in diet sodas to make it zero-calorie can be anything but healthy. Though a discussion on the nutritional dangers/benefits of regular/diet sodas is not called for in this thread. As far as my dessert comment is concerned - people in Europe tend to order dessert cause they aren’t as full eating an European meal compared to finishing off an American meal. I have hardly issues finishing off dessert in Europe whereas the thought of dessert after an American meal while make me sick ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/50 "2006-01-13T17:33:59Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > So, how’s your French toast? > > Someone’s gotta get this one, I just know it Smelly and ungrateful. This _American_ toast, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/51 "2006-01-13T17:35:03Z")
I heard somewhere that a kid’s meal-size hamburger today was the same size as an adult-sized hamburger back in the 70s. Ivylad and I have found we should not order an appetizer, because we won’t eat all our meal. Doggie bags are very nice. We ate at a fondue restaurant for our anniversary, and I felt like I had to eat everything, mainly because of the price and also because (obviously) a doggie bag was out of the question. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/52 "2006-01-13T22:02:06Z")
When I went to Europe in 1985 I really noticed the smaller portions. And, I lost a whole bunch of weight (I think the walking helped, too; Eurail pass & all). Working in food service here in the U.S. I often encountered foreigners who’d turn down offers of bigger portions. Even when scooping ice cream, I remember a man with a delightful accent who was astonished that we’d offer him so much food. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/53 "2006-01-14T03:07:52Z")
> [@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 read several articles recently that support the claim that artificial sweeteners in diet sodas are no better, and perhaps worse, than the “natural” sugar found in non-diet soda for helping contribute to weight gain, calorie content notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/54 "2006-01-14T03:31:50Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > I’ve read several articles recently that support the claim that artificial sweeteners in diet sodas are no better, and perhaps worse, than the “natural” sugar found in non-diet soda for helping contribute to weight gain, calorie content notwithstanding. What evidence did they present? Did they propose any mechanisms by which a calorie-free drink can cause weight gain? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/55 "2006-01-14T04:14:39Z")
FWIW: I’m an Australian and, on my trip to the US, didn’t seem to encounter portions significantly larger than what we get here. I was dining at fairly upscale places though, around $20 - $30 USD a head. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/56 "2006-01-14T04:25:28Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > What evidence did they present? Did they propose any mechanisms by which a calorie-free drink can cause weight gain? By generating an insulin surge. Artificial sweeteners can be worse than sugar, that’s why women with gestational diabetes can’t use them. Some diabetics can, I don’t know the ins & outs of it, though. ---
**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 14, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/57 "2006-01-14T05:40:16Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > By generating an insulin surge. Artificial sweeteners can be worse than sugar, that’s why women with gestational diabetes can’t use them. Some diabetics can, I don’t know the ins & outs of it, though. Huh? How in heaven’s name is this possible? Could you please cite something - my son is diabetic and thus our family drinks sugar free drinks all the time. I related a story in another thread about good adults believing bad science, about how disinformation about diabetes can be very troubling. Please make sure that you aren’t spreading inaccurate information. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/58 "2006-01-14T06:00:18Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > What evidence did they present? Did they propose any mechanisms by which a calorie-free drink can cause weight gain? A quick google search shows quite a few hits about the topic; I leave it to you to judge their reliability. Essentially, they seem to say that aspartame and its ilk either trick your body into believing all sweet products are low-calorie, or else _doesn’t_ trick your body, which makes up for the lost calorie intake by causing you to eat more (I’m not sure if those two things contradict one another or if these people are just Nutrasweet bashing). The other product, sucralose/Splenda (note the -ose ending), causes the body to release insulin just like a fructose or sucrose would, which helps lead to the weight gain despite the lack of calories. I’ve never been a big fan of artificial sweeteners personally, but I just read that Splenda is two molecules of sucrose and three molecules of chlorine (closer to pesticide than salt they say), and that’s reason enough for me to avoid it. ---
**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 14, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/59 "2006-01-14T13:13:18Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > A quick google search shows quite a few hits about the topic; I leave it to you to judge their reliability. A quick google search turns up a ton of crazy bullshit. The only reasonable study seems to be one that suggests that if you give one group of rats a mix of sweetened and artificial sweetened fluids and another group of rats just the sweetened fluids for ten days, and then give them a chocolate, the first group will eat more of their regular food after getting the chocolate than the second. Seems all the references to the issue pointed back to this one study. Not nearly enough of a literature base to be making such a conclusion. This is particularly the case when there are other studies, such as: > [@](#): > > The effect of non-nutritive sweeteners on body weight in rats. > > Porikos KP, Koopmans HS. > > Department of Medical Physiology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. > > Artificial sweeteners are used to provide a sweet taste to a food while removing the calories associated with sugar. The importance of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) for the control of body weight has never been proved. In this long-term study, 81 rats fed ad libitum on chow and water were given either an 11% sucrose solution, a solution artificially sweetened with saccharin and aspartame or served as controls. Over an 8-week period, the sucrose rats gained considerable weight while the NNS rats showed the same weight gain as controls. When the sweetened solutions were switched, obese sucrose rats lost weight during the next 8 weeks while rats previously on NNS gained weight rapidly. The results show that substitution of artificial sweeteners for sugars prevents weight gain and promotes weight loss in rats. Try your Google search using Google scholar next time. It will cut down on the crazy bullshit, which will do us all good. I could find nothing to support the idea of an “insulin surge” with Splenda or anything else. Unless you have an agenda to push, I ask you to stop spewing nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689/60 "2006-01-14T14:13:25Z")
Chill out Hentor, I’m relating what I learned (from my doctor, the dietician, and my own reading) when I had gestational diabetes two years ago. I acknowledged already that I don’t know squat about Type I or Type II diabetes. There are differences between the three diabetes. I’m pretty sure I threw away the pamphlet they gave me; at any rate, just about everything I own right now is packed in preparation for our impending move. Gah. I don’t have time to do a fucking literature review for you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-american-portion-size-fact-or-myth/339689.md?page=4)