4 ms·

I think the issue stems from a holdover great depression mentality. Growing up I was taught to "clean my plate" and disciplined when I failed to do so, as wast

I think the issue stems from a holdover great depression mentality. Growing up I was taught to "clean my plate" and disciplined when I failed to do so, as wasting even a small amount of food was apparently some sort of cardinal sin despite my family being quite well off. I was also taught that eating large portions was a sign of health, an "active metabolism" (whatever the hell that is). Whenever I said I was done people would ask me if I was sure and offer me more. I was educated enough to figure things out in adulthood, but you raise a poorly educated populace on that mentality while making the least healthy food cheap and delicious, and shocker we have an obesity epidemic. :P

robmaister 8y ago
That's certainly part of it, but I also think part of it is due to the economics of running a restaurant. Margins are getting thinner and thinner as people don't want to pay more for the same food (despite this being how inflation works), so one strategy is to charge more and offer larger portions. The cost of a larger portion is minimal relative to the higher price (especially in dishes that are made in large batches anyways). So the restaurant is happy to be getting enough to cover all their costs (and hopefully a little extra), and the customer leaves happy despite paying more. The downsides in the long-term are that (1) as time goes on and currency inflates, portion sizes get larger and (2) people get used to larger portion sizes and the same meal has less value to the customer over time. I don't have any data to back this up, but I do believe this sort of feedback loop plays a role in obesity.
PeterisP 8y ago
It's not something that would/should explain the difference between USA and, say, Europe - the exact same things you mention as a possible holdover from the great depression of 1920s are also observed elsewhere as a holdover from the generation experiencing food scarcity/rationing/starvation in WW2 and the aftermath of it; UK or Germany had food issues into the 1950s but it doesn't have the same effect on obesity as in USA.

robmaister 8y ago

That's certainly part of it, but I also think part of it is due to the economics of running a restaurant. Margins are getting thinner and thinner as people don't want to pay more for the same food (despite this being how inflation works), so one strategy is to charge more and offer larger portions. The cost of a larger portion is minimal relative to the higher price (especially in dishes that are made in large batches anyways). So the restaurant is happy to be getting enough to cover all their costs (and hopefully a little extra), and the customer leaves happy despite paying more. The downsides in the long-term are that (1) as time goes on and currency inflates, portion sizes get larger and (2) people get used to larger portion sizes and the same meal has less value to the customer over time. I don't have any data to back this up, but I do believe this sort of feedback loop plays a role in obesity.

PeterisP 8y ago

It's not something that would/should explain the difference between USA and, say, Europe - the exact same things you mention as a possible holdover from the great depression of 1920s are also observed elsewhere as a holdover from the generation experiencing food scarcity/rationing/starvation in WW2 and the aftermath of it; UK or Germany had food issues into the 1950s but it doesn't have the same effect on obesity as in USA.