Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Americans: We eat poorly quickly
This chart reflects what experience already tells us. In the United States, restaurant patrons tend to dine on their way to doing something else, like in the typical "dinner and a movie" date scenario. Or they grab some fast food on their way home from work, or they throw a delicious Hot Pocket in the microwave. Needless to say, this doesn't always lead to the healthiest eating.
In Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, meals, especially those in restaurants, tend to go on for hours. Drinks are followed by a round of appetizers, a salad, a fish course, a meat course, a grilled cheese course, a burrito course, a round of Halloween candy, a dessert, and then nine other courses. And then drinks again... And then drinks again. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
Every time I leave the US I'm reminded that a meal should be an event, a time to talk with old friends and make new ones, or if you're dining alone, a time to take a breath and think about what the hell you're doing on this big blue marble called Earth.
The Zen Buddhists said it better than I ever could: "The food is not the meal."
[Graph via Marginal Revolution.]
Filed under: Food and Drink
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ava May 9th 2009 11:30AM
Sad but unsurprisingly true. I live part of the year in the south of France and there is an incredible difference in what people eat and the way that they eat. I've noticed that my meals are substantially longer, by as little as an hour. Plus, few of my meals include processed foods. And the cool part is that even though I enjoy bread, cheese, pasta and other wonderful foods when I am in France, since I'm much more active (read: walk a lot), I typically lose weight.
I recognize that there are lifestyle differences but, at what point does our health become a top priority? Besides, meal-events are very cool. ;o)