From what I can see, an issue here is the default experience of going out for a meal in the US. Food is very associated with social activities pretty much every

From what I can see, an issue here is the default experience of going out for a meal in the US. Food is very associated with social activities pretty much everywhere, but the United States restaurant experience too often involves way too huge portions. This portion size ballooning certainly has contributed to the United States' obesity (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/news-events/matte1.htm https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/news-even...). From what I see, in New York City and other major cities, it's a lot easier to find restaurants that are more balanced in portions and/or promote healthier fare. This is not necessarily true everywhere in the United States... and even in NYC, I'm sure there are quite a number of restaurants that fall into that ballooned portion size category. If a group of folks decides that this type of restaurant is what they want, if you are on a diet, what do you do? In this sense, I actually think the introvert has an advantage here. Heck, so many of the US social activities revolve around often junk-y food and/or alcohol... whether it be a celebratory party, a pancake breakfast, a picnic lunch, a potluck social, gathering to watch a game, etc...