Why Americans die younger than Brits. And Canucks, Aussies and Japanese...

[derspiess]

There was a lot of fat people taking scooters around.  Sad sight seeing obese parents on scooters with their young kids (on the way to becoming really fat) trailing behing them.

Is that how Disney is these days?  Sounds pretty much like Wal-Mart in that regard.  Nothing like seeing a morbidly obese mom or grandma screaming at her kids & trying to chase them down on her scooter.

[Ed Anger]

I'm sure the gay days are different.

[Eddie Teach]

Really expensive steak houses also serve enormous portions.

They still taste good when heated up in the microwave the next day.

[crazy canuck]

Really expensive steak houses also serve enormous portions.

They still taste good when heated up in the microwave the next day.

at the very least heat left over meat over a grill

[garbon]

Really expensive steak houses also serve enormous portions.

They still taste good when heated up in the microwave the next day.

at the very least heat left over meat over a grill

I don't own a microwave.

[The Brain]

These were real restaurants.  I knew fast food joints do that but the portion sizes of restaurants serving real food suprised me.

While I wouldn't base my opinions on the Anaheim area, it is true that our portions are fairly large. Want small portions? Head to an upscale establishment.

Really expensive steak houses also serve enormous portions.  I think by upscale you mean fine dining where portions are small even in the US.

Isnt that a rather common complaint from US tourists when they are abroad. That the portion sizes are tiny?

"No you fatass thats the amount of calories you actually need".

To be serious though when I have done the touristy thing in the US I tend to notice that the number that are overweight seems to be not that much higher than over here but the ones that are overwight are merely overweight here and morbidly obese there. I suspect my observational capabilities are wrong though because every statistic I read show that the percentage of fat people in the US is much higher.

Many people you think of as normal when you're in America would be considered fat if they walked down a street in Sweden.

[Eddie Teach]

You can split a meal if that's not satisfactory.

Restaurants serve large portions because they sell more food that way while keeping overhead and labor costs relatively stable. If they just raise the prices while still serving small portions, many customers don't feel they're getting their money's worth and go elsewhere.

[DGuller]

Many people you think of as normal when you're in America would be considered fat if they walked down a street in Sweden.

That's a purely hypothetical assertion.  In reality, no American would ever walk down a street.

[Malthus]

You can split a meal if that's not satisfactory.

Restaurants serve large portions because they sell more food that way while keeping overhead and labor costs relatively stable. If they just raise the prices while still serving small portions, many customers don't feel they're getting their money's worth and go elsewhere.

It is odd that this same economic concern doesn't occur outside of the US.

[DGuller]

I remember watching some show that featured a famous deli in New York.  They served pastrami sandwiches there, which looked way too oversized.  The place's manager was talking about his sandwiches, and said that if his cutomer ever managed to finish their pastrami sandwich, then they feel like they made a mistake.   

No further logic was offered to explain why they think that way.  I love pastrami sandwiches, but I resolved to never eat in that deli after seeing that piece (of course, I forgot what that deli was, so I'll never eat pastrami sandwiches anywhere in Manhattan, just to be safe).  Being boastful of both gluttony and waste of food seems very degenerate to me.

[The Brain]

Many people you think of as normal when you're in America would be considered fat if they walked down a street in Sweden.

That's a purely hypothetical assertion.  In reality, no American would ever walk down a street.

It's easy to laugh at Americans. I do it myself most of my waking hours.

[alfred russel]

You can split a meal if that's not satisfactory.

Restaurants serve large portions because they sell more food that way while keeping overhead and labor costs relatively stable. If they just raise the prices while still serving small portions, many customers don't feel they're getting their money's worth and go elsewhere.

It is odd that this same economic concern doesn't occur outside of the US.

This is generalizing of course, but food tends to be cheap in the US in comparison to Europe (I think we are probably comparing the US to Europe). The result of that is American restaurants may be a bit wasteful on the portion side to make sure that the customer doesn't leave hungry.

I remember watching some show that featured a famous deli in New York.  They served pastrami sandwiches there, which looked way too oversized.  The place's manager was talking about his sandwiches, and said that if his cutomer ever managed to finish their pastrami sandwich, then they feel like they made a mistake.   

Manhattan may be an extreme example: the land is extremely expensive, so the incremental food costs are rather negligible. Also, you are probably aiming for the tourist market, and are going to charge an arm and a leg anyway. Those arms and legs can be turned into pastrami substitutes, keeping food costs even lower.

[Malthus]

This is generalizing of course, but food tends to be cheap in the US in comparison to Europe (I think we are probably comparing the US to Europe). The result of that is American restaurants may be a bit wasteful on the portion side to make sure that the customer doesn't leave hungry.

Actually, the comparison here is with Canada. Dunno if food is cheaper in the US vs. Canada. I assume not, or not very.

I think the explaination is more likely cultural than economic.

[Ed Anger]

I remember watching some show that featured a famous deli in New York.  They served pastrami sandwiches there, which looked way too oversized.  The place's manager was talking about his sandwiches, and said that if his cutomer ever managed to finish their pastrami sandwich, then they feel like they made a mistake.   

No further logic was offered to explain why they think that way.  I love pastrami sandwiches, but I resolved to never eat in that deli after seeing that piece (of course, I forgot what that deli was, so I'll never eat pastrami sandwiches anywhere in Manhattan, just to be safe).  Being boastful of both gluttony and waste of food seems very degenerate to me.

I think I know the place you are talking about. Great sandwiches. They are always on the travel channel.

Wish I could remember the name. dammit.

[alfred russel]

This is generalizing of course, but food tends to be cheap in the US in comparison to Europe (I think we are probably comparing the US to Europe). The result of that is American restaurants may be a bit wasteful on the portion side to make sure that the customer doesn't leave hungry.

Actually, the comparison here is with Canada. Dunno if food is cheaper in the US vs. Canada. I assume not, or not very.

I think the explaination is more likely cultural than economic.

Is America really so different than Canada? If CC was to compare Vancouver to Seattle or San Fransisco, would there be a difference? I don't know if there is a Canadian counterpart to Orlando, but your national dish is poutine, isn't it?