> Well, you know at least one person now. Eating a lot less or not at all on restaurant day has always been fairly normal for me and my family. I think this is

> Well, you know at least one person now. Eating a lot less or not at all on restaurant day has always been fairly normal for me and my family. I think this is pretty abnormal. Even when I lived in Germany I didn't observe this behavior. It's fine if you do this. In fact it's probably good. It's just not common. If it were common, huge restaurant meals wouldn't be an issue. (And actually, if you do this I'm not sure why you're complaining about the big meals.) > Most people (in the US, at least) are also obese, bringing them up in this context doesn't prove much. I'm not sure what you think I'm trying to "prove". I was responding to your broad statement that a restaurant meal tends supplant other food for the day. Given that we're talking about American restaurants and enormous American portions, I think the context of how Americans eat is extremely relevant. > It may not be cheaper to serve smaller portions, but other countries seem to manage it just fine. That's not a good enough reason. It seems more culture bound than business bound. It's quite obviously a cultural consideration. That doesn't mean it isn't a business consideration as well. If your customers' expectations are that a $20 meal has enough calories for a day and you're serving half as much food for the same price, you're likely to have trouble staying in business because your customers think you're ripping them off.