Last month, I pondered the reasons why the US- a country obsessed with dieting and low fat/sugar/calorie products - is plagued by the obesity epidemic yet in the Netherlands, where diets and diet products are comparatively non-existent, people remain so slim.
The most obvious solution is the amount of cycling that the Dutch do. But, a few days ago, when I visited the Burger King at Utrecht Centraal Station for a quick refreshment, I figured out the real deal. When I got to the counter, I ordered a Cola Light. “Klein, medium, of large,” the girl behind the counter asked. Being on the thirsty side, I went for a medium. This is what I got:
This is a medium?!? © clogsandtulips
This is what a medium-sized drink looks like, folks. In the US, we call this a small. The cup in the photo above is filled with Cola Light. Now CL is roughly 5 calories per 8 ounces (I know the nutrition labels say zero, but in the nutrition world, if it’s 5 calories or less, it’s counted as zero). Imagine that this was filled with gewoon Cola (that’s regular Coke). A can of Coke is between 200 and 250 calories. When the Dutch order a medium drink, they get the size pictured above. When Americans order a medium drink, they get what the Dutch would consider a large.
What’s even sadder is this sign I saw in a Subway in Utrecht back in early August.
American cookie © clogsandtulipc
“American.” That’s Dutch for Super-sized.
When my husband and I were on vacation this past summer, we were forced to eat out much of the time and were constantly amazed (yes, myself included) by the sheer size of the portions. Eating half of what was on our plates at breakfast filled us up enough to make us ill at the thought of food until dinner time.
Sadly, the American mentality of fast food and the bigger the portion the better is making it’s way over to Europe. Franchaises like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC are popping up at an alarming rate. Even Subway, with its American cookie is out to destroy European waistlines. It’s frightening what size can do.
A map of McDonalds restaurants in the US
