# If everyone in the U.S. consumed only enough calories to maintain a "healthy" weight... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448 "2019-04-12T17:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448/21 "2019-04-14T01:20:00Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > This is either psychological, or you are over-estimating the calories in the non fast food alternatives. There’s no nutritional reason a 2/3 of a quarter-pounder would be less filling than a kale and grilled chicken sandwich (or whatever your healthy option is) with the same number of calories. I don’t think all foods are equally filling per calorie. > [@scr4](#): > > If you are eating until you feel physically full, you are eating too fast. If you eat more slowly, your blood sugar will rise and you will feel satiated before you ever feel physically full. Feeling physically full is never my goal, and I’ve always been confused by people who say that, for instance, a broth soup is filling. Because I find little correlation between volume and saiety. But i think different people react to different cues. I just ate an hour ago, and I had plenty of calories. And I’m lying here feeling hungry, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448/22 "2019-04-14T02:34:04Z")
A good example is breakfast cereal. I like Rice Krispies but they do nothing to fill my stomach. I’m hungry within an hour and need a snack to make it to lunch. Shredded wheat fills my stomach and I’m ok for most of the morning. The fiber is a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448/23 "2019-04-14T03:53:13Z")
My weight has been roughly the same for 15 years or so. About 40-50 pounds above optimal. My caloric intake must have matched my activity level output for that time for my weight to maintain. If I were instead the 40 lbs lighter optimal weight, would my caloric intake have really been all that much less? Does it take that many more calories for a larger body to maintain a stable weight? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448/24 "2019-04-14T05:56:32Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Americans can choose between fast, cheap, calorie dense and let’s be frank-good tasting foods or slower, expensive, lower calorie foods that require a great deal of preparation to be palatable. Actually, the good ingredients require less preparation and less “stuff” to be palatable than the mediocre or bad ones: that’s precisely what makes them good. But you need to have access to them and you need to know how to treat them: many people have a problem with one or both of those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyone-in-the-u-s-consumed-only-enough-calories-to-maintain-a-healthy-weight/832448.md?page=1)