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America and food portion sizes

FDG

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do people actually order dessert in restaurants?!? :shock:

Why not?

Anyway, do you people eat out really that often? Personally I only eat at the restaurant once a week, otherwise it can become quite an expensive habit...
 

SilkRoad

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_115790.html

Article about obesity rates in the US and UK. The rates are closer than I would have guessed. As I think I said already, living in London you get a bit of an unrealistic idea as people are on the thin side here and it's actually quite unusual to see someone really obese (a bit overweight, yes, but that's about it.)

In both the US and Canada, though, I have seen a lot more people who were so overweight that I didn't understand how they could move around, than anywhere in the UK (and I have travelled around the UK).
 

Quinlan

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_115790.html

Article about obesity rates in the US and UK. The rates are closer than I would have guessed. As I think I said already, living in London you get a bit of an unrealistic idea as people are on the thin side here and it's actually quite unusual to see someone really obese (a bit overweight, yes, but that's about it.)

In both the US and Canada, though, I have seen a lot more people who were so overweight that I didn't understand how they could move around, than anywhere in the UK (and I have travelled around the UK).

Obese is a BMI of 30 or over, most laymen would consider someone with a BMI of 30 to be "a bit overweight" not fat or obese. The cutoffs are actually (probably wrongly) quite low, and considering weight falls as a bell curve most statistically "obese" people are only just obese and in the same sense most "overweight" people are only just overweight.

You probably shouldn't be able to visually notice the difference between the two populations, what you do seem to notice is there are more outliers in the states than the UK but they're not really going to skew the overall statistics.

The thing that really drives the obesity rates are people who are "a bit overweight" gaining or losing a few pounds, rather than people becoming massive.

Edit: Just read the article, woah a lot of scaremongering there! Bit strange given obesity rates have plateaued for the last ten years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/health/14obese.html
 

Qlip

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I just assumed there were a lot of fat people in England, and it looks like this is not completely incorrect. I gathered this mostly from watching BBC. Since we're talking about the media, maybe the fact is that the English like to have a fat person to make fun of. This would explain why the nearly-as-obese British like to poke fun at American obesity. They also like to poke fun at Catholics, but that's besides the point.
 

SilkRoad

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I just assumed there were a lot of fat people in England, and it looks like this is not completely incorrect. I gathered this mostly from watching BBC. Since we're talking about the media, maybe the fact is that the English like to have a fat person to make fun of. This would explain why the nearly-as-obese British like to poke fun at American obesity. They also like to poke fun at Catholics, but that's besides the point.

Most Europeans, including the Brits, just hate and despise Americans, full stop. (I say this as a Canadian, btw).

Again though, I really would hesitate to say that the UK problem is on the same scale as either the US or Canada. I've spent a lot less time in the US than in the UK, and I've seen a lot more people in the US who were literally square (and quite a few in Canada).
 

Saslou

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Most Europeans, including the Brits, just hate and despise Americans, full stop. (I say this as a Canadian, btw).

Again though, I really would hesitate to say that the UK problem is on the same scale as either the US or Canada. I've spent a lot less time in the US than in the UK, and I've seen a lot more people in the US who were literally square (and quite a few in Canada).

I can't speak for everyone but family and friends who have been to America have said how friendly the people are and what a welcoming country it is. My father told me some time back that if he were younger he would of considered emigrating there. That was an interesting link you posted, thanks for sharing.
 

giegs

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Yup, I work with a lot of international youth and they're consistently surprised by how friendly we are. Then they get scared when I want to go drink beer and shoot things for fun.
 

SilkRoad

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I can't speak for everyone but family and friends who have been to America have said how friendly the people are and what a welcoming country it is. My father told me some time back that if he were younger he would of considered emigrating there. That was an interesting link you posted, thanks for sharing.

Oh damn. I was hoping the Brits/Europeans wouldn't notice that comment. ;) Seriously though, I know Canadians are supposed to dislike Americans but it's nothing like what I've encountered over here. I end up defending AMericans on a regular basis. It's a bit weird.

I'm always fascinated by how if you go on the Comment Is Free section of the Guardian newspaper - regardless of what the story is about, people will always start bashing Americans and Israelis. It's quite an extraordinary feat of contortion sometimes.
 

Saslou

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Oh damn. I was hoping the Brits/Europeans wouldn't notice that comment. ;) Seriously though, I know Canadians are supposed to dislike Americans but it's nothing like what I've encountered over here. I end up defending AMericans on a regular basis. It's a bit weird.

I'm always fascinated by how if you go on the Comment Is Free section of the Guardian newspaper - regardless of what the story is about, people will always start bashing Americans and Israelis. It's quite an extraordinary feat of contortion sometimes.

How many Brits/Europeans are on this site? Someone was bound to notice ;)

I know there is a stereotypical perception of Americans such as they need to shout at everyone who remotely looks different and those down south are 'redneck' commiting incest or having bodies in their basement, lol :blush: but i know thats bullshit, i hope it is.

I do not read the Guardian but now you've mentioned it, i may try once just to see for myself.
 

ceecee

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do people actually order dessert in restaurants?!? :shock:

Of course. I see a lot of very small portion desserts lately. Things in shot glasses or mini versions of the regular stuff. I think this is a great thing and obviously people are asking for it. One we got recently was a tiny brownie and tiny scoop of ice cream with a little hot fudge sauce. It was adorable and since we both had salads, I don't think it blew our diets. It's all about portion control.
 
G

Glycerine

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_115790.html

Article about obesity rates in the US and UK. The rates are closer than I would have guessed. As I think I said already, living in London you get a bit of an unrealistic idea as people are on the thin side here and it's actually quite unusual to see someone really obese (a bit overweight, yes, but that's about it.)

In both the US and Canada, though, I have seen a lot more people who were so overweight that I didn't understand how they could move around, than anywhere in the UK (and I have travelled around the UK).

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-12-02/...t-cells-fat-children-liposuction?_s=PM:HEALTH

The sad thing is more and more kids are overweight and the number of fat cells we have as a baby never go ago so it's going to be a bigger problem.
 

FDG

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Of course. I see a lot of very small portion desserts lately. Things in shot glasses or mini versions of the regular stuff. I think this is a great thing and obviously people are asking for it. One we got recently was a tiny brownie and tiny scoop of ice cream with a little hot fudge sauce. It was adorable and since we both had salads, I don't think it blew our diets. It's all about portion control.

Ahaha, I totally hate those small desserts. I don't eat out very often and I usually follow quite a controlled diet at home, thus when I order a dessert I want it BIG, lol.
 
A

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Of course. I see a lot of very small portion desserts lately. Things in shot glasses or mini versions of the regular stuff. I think this is a great thing and obviously people are asking for it. One we got recently was a tiny brownie and tiny scoop of ice cream with a little hot fudge sauce. It was adorable and since we both had salads, I don't think it blew our diets. It's all about portion control.

i love those desserts! it's the perfect size to enjoy a sweet treat. otherwise you are left with the task of either consuming a cake "slice" the size of your head, or being forced to share it with your companions.

i ordered red velvet cake when i went out to dinner with a male friend earlier this year. i had decided that this would be my sweet reward for working on being healthier and whatever i didn't finish at the restaurant would be leftovers. i was practically drooling at the thought. then my INTP friend says "oh awesome! i'll just eat your cake with you so i don't have to order something myself!"

...

i spent the dessert round resentfully snapping through that cake with my fork poised like a trident ready to smite him if he dare stole across my side of the cake.

sometimes cake should not be shared.

where was i even? no idea, but there we go.

also, portion sizes in europe are not as dainty as some here may be thinking. i was warned before i went to paris this summer that the food would be more expensive and that i would get less of it. i noticed no difference between eating out a "normal" american restaurant to eating out at the cafes in paris. i have a picture of one lunch where i ordered quiche and it was like the size of the plate, the slice was so enormous.
 

Such Irony

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I'd like to see smaller portions in restaurants. I usually can't eat all of it in one setting and sometimes it isn't feasible for me to take the leftovers home if I'm not going straight home afterwards. By the time I get home the food spoils. I hate wasting food but I'm not going to eat when I'm not hungry just to clean my plate either. I wish there were more options to choose portion sizes in restaurants. Sometimes I try to talk someone into sharing a larger entree than me but that only works if the other person wants the same thing I do which is rare.

Sometimes I feel like restaurants penalize people for wanting to eat healthier. The healthier options offer a more reasonable portion size but you're still paying the same price, sometimes even more, compared to the larger, less healthy counterparts.
 
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