6 ms·

"In France, for example, a serving of ice cream is typically a single modest scoop, while in America, it’s often three gargantuan scoops." This was the first t

by zamio 12y ago

"In France, for example, a serving of ice cream is typically a single modest scoop, while in America, it’s often three gargantuan scoops." This was the first thing that struck me when I first moved here. Portions for all kinds of food from ice-cream, to coffee are huge. Why are huge portions such a common thing here?

sprucely 12y ago
It's probably a number of factors. A couple of possibilities I can think of are Americans' sense of value (get as much as you can for your money,) and a general addiction to the sensation of a full stomach.
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  I think it also has to do with the common attitude in the US that 'bigger is better' and I guess that probably goes hand in hand with value.
rogerbinns 12y ago
It is the simplest way to increase revenues. If for example a food item is sold for $5, and you would like more revenue then increase the portion size (costing say 20c in ingredients) and charge $6. Labour and space costs are pretty much fixed so this is the resolution to getting more per customer. There are also some other cultural differences. Eating out is far more common amongst similar peer groups (comparing US and UK). Additionally Americans seem less able/willing to cook, despite the amusing amount of "food porn" TV channels and shows. That also ties in with the doggie bag - the idea being that the meal served is for more than one meal, taking the difference home for eating at another time thereby avoiding having to cook later.
- nodata 12y ago
  But his question was "why in America?", why not anywhere else?
  - joesmo 12y ago
    It's not only in America anymore. I've seen just as gigantic portion sizes while traveling to Europe (England, Netherlands, Romania, Italy, France) and Australia, though not so much in China (except Macau). Likely other countries are moving in the same direction as America. At restaurants, however, there is very good incentive to provide large portions. A restaurant has fixed portions that need to feed everyone from small children to gigantic football players. Without the large portions, many larger people would feel unsatisfied and not come back/give the restaurant a bad rating. Because costs are marginal it makes perfect sense that restaurants would have large portions. I've also noticed that there is a general fear of running out of food at social gatherings such as parties. Generally two to three times the amount is ordered. I'm sure this type of thinking is pretty common though this might be more of an American attitude (I don't really know).
    - nightcracker 12y ago
      As a Dutchman I disagree. In general the portions here aren't large.
      - stinos 12y ago
        This. Have been in almost all countries in Europe and nowhere portions seemed to be as big as in the US on average, let alone you'd ever get absurd portions like sometimes in the US. Don't really know where the joesmo went.
    - nodata 12y ago
      > England, Netherlands, Romania, Italy, France None of these places have anywhere near the same portion sizes.
      - contingencies 12y ago
        Agreed (haven't hit Italy yet, but the others ... 1 year, 2 months, 1 month, 3 months).
    - 12y ago
learc83 12y ago
I think it was because America was the first country that could eat afford to eat like that, so we did. Look at the differences in traditional Italian food and Italian American food. Dealing with virtually unlimited quantities of food is a very recent problem, and Americans were the first to have this problem at scale. Most of the rest of the world now has this problem too. If you look at overweight trends, most developed countries are about were America was 30 years ago [1]. There are other differences as well. For one, America was the first country with ubiquitous car ownership--contributing to lower population density and less walking, more time sitting, and drive through restaurants. [1] http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fat/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fa...
- ska 12y ago
  I think there is some truth to this, but it also seems to be true that on average the US is valuing quantity over quality (in food) more than many other economies that can certainly afford to overeat.
  - learc83 12y ago
    I'm sure there are some cultural differences, but keep in mind 30-40 years ago we didn't have huge quantities they way we do now, and we didn't go out to eat the way we do now. It took time for the cultural norm to catch up to our ability to overeat. While other countries can now afford to overeat as easily as we can, they've been able to do so for a lot less time. Again the charts for percentage of the population that is overweight and obese back up this hypothesis--other developed countries are trailing behind the US by about 30 years. They have just had less time to make a habit out of over-consumption. Also, most other developed countries still haven't caught up to the US in terms of affordable overeating. In PPP terms the US ranks 10 in GDP per capita, higher than every other major economy and higher than almost all of Europe by a very significant margin.
  - kolev 12y ago
    If we have to use the info from [1], it could be argued that America can afford the most! [1] http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/the-hunger-study/ http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research...
pinaceae 12y ago
if you're an immigrant from a poor country where food is an issue, portion size is the first sign of success. recent studies compared obesity levels of immigrants from mexico - you see a huge spike once they're settled in the US. the direct correlation between poverty and obesity in the US is driven by that. cheap, sugar and fat rich food with huge portions. "i didn't work my ass off to eat a fucking salad".
- contingencies 12y ago
  portion size is the first sign of success Or perhaps, people with childhood food insecurities and a habit of gorging what's available, when it's available, as quickly as possible will probably eat more of worse food when given the chance. i didn't work my ass off to eat a fucking salad ... which is amusing, given that the extremely affluent classes consume well produced salads with quality ingredients as main meals, even in the face of significant choice.
marktangotango 12y ago
I assumed it was due to a predominantly rural, agricultural society upto WW2, eat like a farmer and all. I have no references to support this.
benihana 12y ago
No idea why they're so common. I was born in the early 1980s and I've noticed this trend happening in my lifetime. It wasn't always like this.
notastartup 12y ago
Advancements in GMO food has enabled America to produce food at extreme scale but at questionable health prospects.

by zamio 12y ago

sprucely 12y ago

It's probably a number of factors. A couple of possibilities I can think of are Americans' sense of value (get as much as you can for your money,) and a general addiction to the sensation of a full stomach.

k-mcgrady 12y ago
I think it also has to do with the common attitude in the US that 'bigger is better' and I guess that probably goes hand in hand with value.

rogerbinns 12y ago

It is the simplest way to increase revenues. If for example a food item is sold for $5, and you would like more revenue then increase the portion size (costing say 20c in ingredients) and charge $6. Labour and space costs are pretty much fixed so this is the resolution to getting more per customer. There are also some other cultural differences. Eating out is far more common amongst similar peer groups (comparing US and UK). Additionally Americans seem less able/willing to cook, despite the amusing amount of "food porn" TV channels and shows. That also ties in with the doggie bag - the idea being that the meal served is for more than one meal, taking the difference home for eating at another time thereby avoiding having to cook later.

nodata 12y ago
But his question was "why in America?", why not anywhere else?
- joesmo 12y ago
  It's not only in America anymore. I've seen just as gigantic portion sizes while traveling to Europe (England, Netherlands, Romania, Italy, France) and Australia, though not so much in China (except Macau). Likely other countries are moving in the same direction as America. At restaurants, however, there is very good incentive to provide large portions. A restaurant has fixed portions that need to feed everyone from small children to gigantic football players. Without the large portions, many larger people would feel unsatisfied and not come back/give the restaurant a bad rating. Because costs are marginal it makes perfect sense that restaurants would have large portions. I've also noticed that there is a general fear of running out of food at social gatherings such as parties. Generally two to three times the amount is ordered. I'm sure this type of thinking is pretty common though this might be more of an American attitude (I don't really know).
  - nightcracker 12y ago
    As a Dutchman I disagree. In general the portions here aren't large.
    - stinos 12y ago
      This. Have been in almost all countries in Europe and nowhere portions seemed to be as big as in the US on average, let alone you'd ever get absurd portions like sometimes in the US. Don't really know where the joesmo went.
  - nodata 12y ago
    > England, Netherlands, Romania, Italy, France None of these places have anywhere near the same portion sizes.
    - contingencies 12y ago
      Agreed (haven't hit Italy yet, but the others ... 1 year, 2 months, 1 month, 3 months).
  - 12y ago

learc83 12y ago

I think it was because America was the first country that could eat afford to eat like that, so we did. Look at the differences in traditional Italian food and Italian American food. Dealing with virtually unlimited quantities of food is a very recent problem, and Americans were the first to have this problem at scale. Most of the rest of the world now has this problem too. If you look at overweight trends, most developed countries are about were America was 30 years ago [1]. There are other differences as well. For one, America was the first country with ubiquitous car ownership--contributing to lower population density and less walking, more time sitting, and drive through restaurants. [1] http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fat/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fa...

ska 12y ago
I think there is some truth to this, but it also seems to be true that on average the US is valuing quantity over quality (in food) more than many other economies that can certainly afford to overeat.
- learc83 12y ago
  I'm sure there are some cultural differences, but keep in mind 30-40 years ago we didn't have huge quantities they way we do now, and we didn't go out to eat the way we do now. It took time for the cultural norm to catch up to our ability to overeat. While other countries can now afford to overeat as easily as we can, they've been able to do so for a lot less time. Again the charts for percentage of the population that is overweight and obese back up this hypothesis--other developed countries are trailing behind the US by about 30 years. They have just had less time to make a habit out of over-consumption. Also, most other developed countries still haven't caught up to the US in terms of affordable overeating. In PPP terms the US ranks 10 in GDP per capita, higher than every other major economy and higher than almost all of Europe by a very significant margin.
- kolev 12y ago
  If we have to use the info from [1], it could be argued that America can afford the most! [1] http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/the-hunger-study/ http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research...

pinaceae 12y ago

if you're an immigrant from a poor country where food is an issue, portion size is the first sign of success. recent studies compared obesity levels of immigrants from mexico - you see a huge spike once they're settled in the US. the direct correlation between poverty and obesity in the US is driven by that. cheap, sugar and fat rich food with huge portions. "i didn't work my ass off to eat a fucking salad".

contingencies 12y ago
portion size is the first sign of success Or perhaps, people with childhood food insecurities and a habit of gorging what's available, when it's available, as quickly as possible will probably eat more of worse food when given the chance. i didn't work my ass off to eat a fucking salad ... which is amusing, given that the extremely affluent classes consume well produced salads with quality ingredients as main meals, even in the face of significant choice.

marktangotango 12y ago

I assumed it was due to a predominantly rural, agricultural society upto WW2, eat like a farmer and all. I have no references to support this.

benihana 12y ago

No idea why they're so common. I was born in the early 1980s and I've noticed this trend happening in my lifetime. It wasn't always like this.

notastartup 12y ago

Advancements in GMO food has enabled America to produce food at extreme scale but at questionable health prospects.