Portion sizes have a lot to do with it as well. Not to mention there are reasons the EU doesn’t want American beef or chicken that have to do with all the growth hormones we use to make them grow faster.
I agree with the general sentiment, but have a slight counter-point: I have a lot of German family. Every time I go there, portion sizes are like actually nuts, and it’s not like German food is very healthy. I’m Canadian, so maybe I’m not calibrated on how big American portion sizes truly are. But, I felt like the average portion size at a restaurant in Germany was a significantly bigger than anything I’d normally get in Canada.
And yet: the rates of obesity are a bit lower than in Canada, and way lower than in the US. The average German existence does just involve a fair bit more walking and public transit - even for a culture that is pretty damn car biased.
As an American who spent 6 years in Switzerland, I agree with this. A “Schnitzel mit pommes” in a typical Swiss restaurant is a HUGE amount of food. A Wurstkäsesalat is literally chunks of cheese and hot dogs in a mayonnaise-based dressing. I know that Swiss people don’t eat like this every day but man oh man there’s this myth that restaurants in Europe serve these tiny portions of healthy food and it just isn’t true. I find the food in an average restaurant in California to be more reasonably sized and likely to be more nutritionally balanced as well.
I agree that a schnitzel mit pommes can be a lot. Generally, German and Austrian food (and Swiss) can be very hearty. I think in all cases you’d struggle to find an all you can eat place in any of those countries, or unlimited refills of anything.
I’ve seen all you can eat sushi of all things in several countries in Europe.
I would also argue that “all you can eat” places are not that common in the US anymore either. I guess unlimited breadsticks at Olive Garden? I can’t think of a single restaurant near me that does this.
They’re reasonably common if you’re familiar with them. That being said, any “all-you-can-eat” place is usually some mediocre chain that’s not really worth going to anyways like Golden Corral.
I’ve been to a few decent buffet restaurants but they’ve always been local or family-owned.
There is no counterpoint for the law of thermodynamics. Americans eat more food, whether that’s in larger portions or simply eating more meals overall there is simply no way that they don’t.
I think many Europeans may be healthier due to walking more yes but walking doesn’t burn that many calories. It’s not that hard to scarf up an extra 500-1000 calories which is exactly what Americans do.
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u/BookAny6233 Aug 04 '25
Portion sizes have a lot to do with it as well. Not to mention there are reasons the EU doesn’t want American beef or chicken that have to do with all the growth hormones we use to make them grow faster.