My personal experience is that the there is something about food in the US that really pushes you towards obesity. I recently spent 2 months in the US (confere

My personal experience is that the there is something about food in the US that really pushes you towards obesity. I recently spent 2 months in the US (conference + work + road trip). It was relatively sedentary, but probably no more than my day-to-day life. I was careful not to consume any soft drinks - just water, tea (the coffee is unbearable) and the occasional beer. I ate very few snacks and sweets and usually swapped fatty side dishes with salads or cooked vegetables. I did eat out a lot, but I also eat out a lot at home. I don't think my portion sizes were any bigger. The result? Gained nearly 8 pounds! I was really surprised by this. In contrast, during a 2-month long trip to china that included more physical activity, but also tons of very oily noodles, I lost around 4 pounds. Btw, my typical diet is roughly mediterranean+beer (Tel-Aviv). In particular it includes lots of salads with olive oil, lots of hummus, chicken, fish, pasta, pizza, and various forms of junk food.