Do you think people would eat less in America...

[Dumac]

Everyone I've ever known who has traveled to America has said that the portions you get in restaurants etc are massive, like double what a normal person could eat. Every single one.

They sometimes are, but I love it! Eat half, box the other half, and now you have two meals for the price of one.

I love how the American-bashers find a way to post their drivel in every thread these days. There are fat people everywhere, not just in America. I saw plenty of native fatties in Paris. Who cares? Worry about your own diet and exercise routine. You can't fix your neighbor.

Isn't America shown to be one of the fattest countries? Sure, there are fat people everywhere, but whats worrisome is the % of fat people here in America.

Muricans are so fat because Murican food is so delicious. It's the same with the Mexicans.

If Muricans were eating snails and duck liver or raw fish and rice or dirt and dirt, then they'd be shaped like non-Muricans as well.

All those things are delicious. Well not dirt.

McDonalds breakfast is one of the most delicious foods ever created. I wish you could get it all day.

OH GOD THIS. McGriddles, burritos, hasbrowns. All delicious.

I can't get it more than like twice a year though or I'll feel like I'm dying.

 

[SheHateMe]

Yes it would. To pretend otherwise is to assert that all of the billions/year spent on marketing/advertising is money in the drain. It's not, with less advertising Americans would consume the product less.

Okay, so we ban advertisements on TV. Americans still have cars, they drive past a McDonald's or approach it from down the street and they know EXACTLY what it is. You are blaming companies for capitalizing on the fact that people don't make good food choices.

McDonald's won't make you fat if you don't eat there everyday for multiple meals. Do you blame cereal and candy companies for a child's addiction to sugar or their parents who are enabling them?

Punishing the companies is a cop-out. You are pretty much saying that these companies have some sort of mind control over people...taking away the ability to see offerings does not alter one's ability to reason about what is good and what isnt good for you. Most fast food companies put nutrition labels on the boxes, the offer "healthier" options for people too...yet, folks still go to burger king to order a Bacon Sunday and a Double Whopper instead of a cheeseburger and a coke.


Keep blaming the wrong folks and people will continue to get fat.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Cigarette companies aren't allowed to advertise and lot of people still smoke. Though that may be a bit different, if you are a smoker, you buy cigs no matter what, if you are not a smoker, you probably would not start to smoke if you saw an ad for smokes.

Though usually people will choose to eat fast food because they're hungry for it, not because they saw an ad. Then again occasionally I'll see an ad for say, McDonald's and think "Mmmm a nice burger would be awesome" and go get one. It may not even be from McDonald's but the fact that I saw a blown up obviously fake but good looking burger on a 55" LCD in HD may make me want to go buy one.

So it could maybe have a slight effect, but it would probably be small.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

No. Americans love eating. Its a cultural thing.

Let me edumicate you. Americans do not love eating, they love stuffing their faces with excess calories the cheaper the better. Two distinct and separate things.

 

[DrPizza]

To answer the OP: restaurant advertising has virtually no effect on where I go to eat. I choose where I eat based on the quality and value of the food I get. I eat out quite often, especially now during the summer when it's hot out. My wife gets home from work, I ask, "what sounds good for dinner?" Half the time, neither of us feels like cooking, so we head to a local restaurant.

And, to also answer the OP - I think he's correct - all the advertising by various beverage companies (not that this is the only sub-industry) has led to fewer and fewer Americans drinking water. When we go out to dinner with other people, if anyone at the table gets just water, it's me and one of my sons. Everyone else I know feels that it's expected of them to get some other drink. (Not that I don't get another drink about 50% of the time.)

To further answer the OP and address a comment made in the thread - I think that for a lot of Americans, advertising has also led to a decrease in the quality of food many Americans eat when they go out. The amount of sodium added to food has steadily increased over the years at many of the chain restaurants. It's gotten to the point that it's ridiculous at some of them, though many of you probably don't even recognize this. Saltiness is an acquired taste - if you got used to food with little to no salt, it's like your tastebuds adjust to it. Start adding salt, and it enhances the food... temporarily, until you get used to that level of saltiness again. There are a few places that I've tried, based on recommendations, and I about gagged on some of the food.

 

[Spungo]

That would make sense except similar restaurants exist in many countries. I've had food from all over the world and I really fail to see what I'm missing. Please make a list of the foods you think I should be eating that taste so much better than anything in America.

It's probably related to cost. Anything cheap is seen as bad. Did you see that episode of Penn & Teller where they served fast food to people on nice plates with nice silverware? KFC and Taco Bell got rave reviews. One of the people said something to the effect that such high quality food is not available at fast food places.

 

[Fritzo]

Let me edumicate you. Americans do not love eating, they love stuffing their faces with excess calories the cheaper the better. Two distinct and separate things.

Well, you're both right.

America is unique in that we have food from dozens of cultures...making for a lot of variety. We also have a higher income ratio than most countries, and a lot of manufacturing capacity for processed food.

This all combines into a cheap, varied, and plentiful food supply in the US. The bad news is this food is high on flavor, but also high in sodium, fat, and processed carbs (basically sugars)... essentially it's addictive and bad for you. This is a large country too, and everything tends to be spread out---meaning everyone also owns a car. Therefore, walking is kept to a minimum...the normal daily exercise isn't there to burn off those extra calories.

The result? 64oz soft drinks keep us hydrated, we eat double cheeseburgers and fries for lunch, go home and eat hamburger helper, fall asleep on the couch, and wake up overweight. It's a viscous circle that's going to be difficult to break because of the US culture.

 

[Spungo]

The result? 64oz soft drinks keep us hydrated, we eat double cheeseburgers and fries for lunch, go home and eat hamburger helper, fall asleep on the couch, and wake up overweight. It's a viscous circle that's going to be difficult to break because of the US culture.

Maybe shipping labor jobs overseas was a bad idea. All the jobs left behind are desk jobs.

 

[D1gger]

On a related note, anyone love that show, 'Drive ins, Diners, and Dives'?

That's the way to eat.

On an unrelated note, my wife and I have eaten at two restaurants featured on TripleD, (one before they were featured, and one after). Both were not good, and we have not returned. I believe the restaurants pay to be on the show to get the advertising.

 

[Fritzo]

Maybe shipping labor jobs overseas was a bad idea. All the jobs left behind are desk jobs.

That is another problem (for more than one reason, but I won't get into that). The #1 industry in the US is no longer manufacturing...it's services. We have a whole bunch of experts here sitting at desks being all expert-y.

The problem with that is sitting at a computer all day is like sitting watching TV for 8 hours...your body just sits there and atrophies. Your metabolism slows to just above sleeping, and nearly any calories you take in are going to be converted to fat.

Something we do in our office was invented by Daniel Tosh: Piss-ups 🙂

Anytime you come back from the bathroom, you do 20 pushups before you sit down. Seems to work (of course, there's a couple of people in our office that are so fat that their arms can't reach the ground if they're laying on their stomachs, but that's another issue.

 

[Spungo]

Something we do in our office was invented by Daniel Tosh: Piss-ups

Anytime you come back from the bathroom, you do 20 pushups before you sit down. Seems to work (of course, there's a couple of people in our office that are so fat that their arms can't reach the ground if they're laying on their stomachs, but that's another issue.

Sounds like a good idea. I go up and down the stairs every couple hours. Sometimes it makes a big difference. I'll be half asleep before doing it but focused and ready to work when I get back.

 

[Paul98]

Much of the problem is many foods aren't prepared in a way that it tastes good. Lacking spices and flavors that make food that people normally don't like taste great. Or something isn't cooked correctly which can make something that should taste great taste horrid.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I think it's less about advertising and more about price and convenience. I prefer to eat healthy, but when I need a quick meal, it's hard to ignore the fact that I can get a greasy lump of easy for a few bucks vs. going home and cooking, or going to a store and buying it fresh ($$$).

 

[Fritzo]

I think it's less about advertising and more about price and convenience. I prefer to eat healthy, but when I need a quick meal, it's hard to ignore the fact that I can get a greasy lump of easy for a few bucks vs. going home and cooking, or going to a store and buying it fresh ($$$).

There's actually a lot of good choices and you can get a lot of protein from fast food.

Here's some healthy fast food choices on the cheap that are 550 calories or less:

Wendys:
Jr Cheeseburger deluxe (hold mayo) and small chili- filling and very high in protein if you're into muscle building

Chicken pecan salad - again, high in protein and very filling

McDonalds:
McDouble + fruit cup
Asian chicken salad
Grilled chicken sandwich (hold mayo) and side salad

Burger King:
They're actually the worst for eating healthy, but they're releasing some new items in some markets.
Single cheeseburger and side salad
Chicken wrap and apple fries

Taco Bell:

Basically you can eat three of anything on Fresco menu.
Their new chicken bowls competing with Chipoltle are good too.

Chipoltle:
Chicken Burrito Bowl with double beans, no rice, salsa, fajita veggies, and a bit of cheese. Excellent meal to perk you up in the afternoon 🙂

So, there's lots of good things to eat, you just can't go up and say "Give me a large #4". You have to shop the menu.

 

[Rudee]

People are getting fatter because portion sizes have doubled and tripled over the past few decades. People are also eating way too much sugar and processed food. I was looking at a family picture recently that was taking in 1977 when I was 12 years old. It was taken at a Sunday dinner at home, and when you look at the amount of food that was on our plates back then and compare it to the amount of food the average person puts on their dinner plate today, it's a huge difference. A pork chop, a little mashed potato, some carrots. That was a portion, and we were full afterwards. Nowadays, dinner plates are twice the size and people pile on the food until it's six inches deep and go for seconds and thirds...

 

[Broheim]

There's actually a lot of good choices and you can get a lot of protein from fast food.

Here's some healthy fast food choices on the cheap that are 550 calories or less:

Wendys:
Jr Cheeseburger deluxe (hold mayo) and small chili- filling and very high in protein if you're into muscle building

Chicken pecan salad - again, high in protein and very filling

McDonalds:
McDouble + fruit cup
Asian chicken salad
Grilled chicken sandwich (hold mayo) and side salad

Burger King:
They're actually the worst for eating healthy, but they're releasing some new items in some markets.
Single cheeseburger and side salad
Chicken wrap and apple fries

Taco Bell:

Basically you can eat three of anything on Fresco menu.
Their new chicken bowls competing with Chipoltle are good too.

Chipoltle:
Chicken Burrito Bowl with double beans, no rice, salsa, fajita veggies, and a bit of cheese. Excellent meal to perk you up in the afternoon 🙂

So, there's lots of good things to eat, you just can't go up and say "Give me a large #4". You have to shop the menu.

I don't think anything that makes you bleed out of your ass qualifies as healthy

 

[CurseTheSky]

There's actually a lot of good choices and you can get a lot of protein from fast food.

Here's some healthy fast food choices on the cheap that are 550 calories or less:

Wendys:
Jr Cheeseburger deluxe (hold mayo) and small chili- filling and very high in protein if you're into muscle building

Chicken pecan salad - again, high in protein and very filling

McDonalds:
McDouble + fruit cup
Asian chicken salad
Grilled chicken sandwich (hold mayo) and side salad

Burger King:
They're actually the worst for eating healthy, but they're releasing some new items in some markets.
Single cheeseburger and side salad
Chicken wrap and apple fries

Taco Bell:

Basically you can eat three of anything on Fresco menu.
Their new chicken bowls competing with Chipoltle are good too.

Chipoltle:
Chicken Burrito Bowl with double beans, no rice, salsa, fajita veggies, and a bit of cheese. Excellent meal to perk you up in the afternoon 🙂

So, there's lots of good things to eat, you just can't go up and say "Give me a large #4". You have to shop the menu.

Hah, funny, you just named pretty much what I eat from any of those places if I get stuck with it. I've never been a fan of fast food, but a lot of my friends and my wife all are. When I get dragged to Wendy's or McDonalds, I end up with the best compromise I can think of.

Now I don't feel quite as bad. 😛

Edit: if I do get a burger, I hold the cheese and any sauce / mayo on it. I'll add ketchup if it needs some kind of moisture or flavor. I will admit that McDonald's Angus Deluxe without cheese or mayo is pretty tasty. If I get a chicken item, I go for grilled over crispy, and avoid any sauce or mayo. It keeps the calories and fat relatively low.

 

[Sheep]

I don't think anything that makes you bleed out of your ass qualifies as healthy

Had to look this up. This is pretty much the definition of an urban legend.

 

[Spungo]

Had to look this up. This is pretty much the definition of an urban legend.

Irritable bowel syndrome?

People are getting fatter because portion sizes have doubled and tripled over the past few decades. People are also eating way too much sugar and processed food. I was looking at a family picture recently that was taking in 1977 when I was 12 years old. It was taken at a Sunday dinner at home, and when you look at the amount of food that was on our plates back then and compare it to the amount of food the average person puts on their dinner plate today, it's a huge difference. A pork chop, a little mashed potato, some carrots. That was a portion, and we were full afterwards. Nowadays, dinner plates are twice the size and people pile on the food until it's six inches deep and go for seconds and thirds...

Maybe this is why people are against legalizing marijuana. They would go back for fourths and fifths.
Maybe pass a law saying that everything with sugar must also contain caffeine. Eating too much of it would cause illness. We already do that with things like tylenol 3 and cough syrup. Poison is added to cough syrup so idiots trying to get high from it get very sick.