Coming from Europe & Asia, the amount of crap fed in America is just crazy: like “is that for ONE person?” (more like an entire table of 4) since what is considered “normal” is just beyond what my stomach can handle, whenever I see their portion sizes: it makes me puke. (No wonder why they have a higher rate of obesity…)
Yeah, I definitely dont think any country has a monopoly on big meals.
I think it also might be that the cost of ingredients likely makes up a smaller proportion of the cost of a meal in an American restaurant than a restaurant in many other countries. You then end up with restaurants trying to distinguish themselves by giving you a bigger portion size than the competition. You then end up with a situation where there’s an expectation in America that if you order a single item off the menu of a restaurant, you should never leave hungry, no matter what. This means that most people end up with more than they need, so you either take it home, share with someone, or overeat.
I will say that’s all only true for certain types of restaurants. A lot of “nice” restaurants have moved away from the “each person gets a big course and a drink, and maybe you split an appetizer” -style. There’s a lot more family-style than there used to be. There’s a lot more restaurants where a waiter will say something like “for a table of 2, I’d order 4-5 items if you feel normal, 6-7 if you feel really hungry”, and they actually make recommendations on portion size based on what you order. Even fancy places seem to be really encouraging people to share.