US Vs. EU: Why Are Serving Sizes So Different?
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Why do Americans have a vastly different idea about how much food is enough? Here is me searching for the answer.
Medium, Large, Humongous
Despite having lived in the US and having visited a couple of times since then and theoretically at least being aware of this discrepancy, I again fell into the trap during my last stay: I went to a pizzeria and, being quite hungry, ordered a “large” pizza.
What arrived was far more than what I had expected, as the pizza came with the diameter of a spare tire. Despite my best efforts at not letting perfectly good food go to waste, I couldn’t manage it. Three slices before the goal I had to give up.
Had I ordered the same “large” size here in Germany, what I’d have received would have been 1 to 2 inches smaller and perfectly within my size expectations.
And it goes far beyond pizza. The typical German household’s fridge could easily hide inside its American counterpart. The stove you see in most US kitchens is 30 inches wide, where in Europe the most commonly used width is 24 inches – put the average European pot on an American stove, and it looks a bit lost. A “small” soft drink bought in a European fast food restaurant has 8 1/2 fl. oz., where in the US ordering this size gets you almost double the amount (16 fl. oz.). At McDonald’s US, the clueless European would even be surprised how much he gets when he orders a “child size” Coke: 12 fl. oz.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
The results of these different perceptions go on to reflect themselves in clothing sizes, where I can share another personal anecdote.
Taking advantage of low US prices for American brands, I bought a couple of t-shirts during my last stay, expressly asking the clerk at one store for the “S” sizes I couldn’t find. “You Europeans,” he remarked with a smile, “always buy all the small sizes.” Right he was, because an US “S” is a European “M” and a European’s “L” is the American’s “M.”
You could probably make a good buck opening an online market place where Americans and Europeans get to swap clothes they bought overseas without trying them on.
Why The Difference?
I wager that all this is connected to the number of calories consumed, but that doesn’t answer where these different perceptions come from. We mostly share the same cultural heritage, so what happened in the last 200 years that set us so far apart when it comes to the size of our food? For many Americans it is even less than those two centuries, as the last big waves of immigration were only about a 100 years ago. There aren’t more than four or five generations separating us.
“Did we order this?”
One theory I have is about the structure of farmland in the United States and Europe. Where in Europe centuries of bequeathing farmland among sons split once large fields into ever smaller parcels, the colonization of the American continent gave life to gigantic farms with fields and pastures big enough to accommodate a Bavarian township and the land belonging to everyone around it. Working fields this large is way more effective, produces bigger harvests, which also sustains more livestock. And US farmers of course also honed their methods to produce even more output.
The downside is that sooner than later they may have run into overproduction. To combat it the choice may have been a price war, “educating” the US public to eat more or both.
You Tell Me
There you have it: my outside perspective of American eating habits and my theory about the why to go along with it. I’d be much interested to hear your point of view on this. My explanation is one, but not necessarily the right one.
Pictures courtesy of Shannon Kringen and “lyrandian“.
13 Comments
I don’t have an answer, or a theory even. Interesting post! I will say there is nothing more depressing than trying on cycling clothes made in Europe. While I’m usually in a small or medium size for most things (and I wear a size 4 jeans) cycling gear is always a large or extra large sometimes!!!
Rest assured: you are one fit woman, no matter what the label says! 🙂
Wow – I had no idea that there was such a difference in portion sizes – no wonder the US has such an obesity epidemic!!!
And – on a totally unrelated note – I’m glad to finally know that Germany is where you are located!! My favorite wine comes from a winery in the Mosel region. (Chris is friends with the owner and hopefully one day the boys and I will tag along on a trip!!)
Heah cool! Should you visit, we’ll have too meet up! 🙂
I’m in Australia and have also lived in the US twice. The sizes in US are way bigger then over here also (serves and clothes). Whenever I have friends visit Oz from the US they are always amazed at how tiny the portions are and usually lose weight. I’ve always put it down to two things- one we are a much smaller nation (population wise) and much of our continent is not suitable for farmland so food is more expensive. Over there food is mass produced more easily and for so many people it is cheaper to have massive serves. Also I think there is definitely a bigger is better culture created by big companies trying to push their products and widespread easily available credit. You see it with everything there from food to cars to TVs.
Not sure if I’m correct either, just my theories! 🙂
I am under the same impression and Australia is another good example for the differences: both the US and Australia have large portions of Anglo-Saxon heritage, yet nutritional ideas developed much differently.
That discrepancy has puzzled me for the longest time!
I live in Canada and when traveling to the States with my family as a kid, I could already see a difference.
I regularly go to Europe and never fail to notice 1) that portions are much smaller 2) people are much smaller as well!!! (Maybe that’s also because they walk and bike more – we North Americans take our car everywhere, it’s really bad!)
When visiting friends in France I was amazed at how little food they ate.
However, I also have friends in Greece and Croatia, who insist on you eating all your plate, after filling it with a ginormous portion. When you leave their place you have to roll yourself!!!
That is very interesting about the US and Canada: they are practically next door to each other, have very many cultural similarities and yet there is this difference.
And true about Greece and Croatia. It maybe has to do with their concept of hospitality.
Oh, also, I wear much smaller sizes in American clothes brands (eg. The Gap) than I do in European brands (eg. Zara)
That reminds me of once buying an Armani shirt: I usually wear M in shirts, but even his L was tight on me. The good man seems to have the idea that men should be a bit anorexic 😀
I was under the impression that because food was the cheapest aspect of the business, large portions began a the way to get customers. Then like a snowball rolling down the hill, it went off the scale!
Of course, if one controlled how much food they ate at each meal, it would work to the advantage of the consumer.
But it seems from the results, that most people do not!
Yes, and then we are faced with the old question: should we hold companies responsible for what they sell or people for what they eat?
The cheaper, more effective farming you mentioned probably has a lot to do with it. IMO, this can be pretty much attributed to the vast agricultural subsidies, corn in particular. The documentary film ‘Food Inc.’ discusses it, well worth a watch!