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My biggest surprise in visiting Europe
- Thread starter The Lamp
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I thought European obesity rates were pretty comparable to the US at large (not including the US South which is why the US is always in the red on those maps.)
Portion sizes is a big one, people will eat so much in the US. Healthy options isn't everything, calories are calories.
But yeah, America being a automobile nation certainly has an effect on people's health. Walking is great for you.
Portion sizes is a big one, people will eat so much in the US. Healthy options isn't everything, calories are calories.
But yeah, America being a automobile nation certainly has an effect on people's health. Walking is great for you.
It's more like carbs can make you fat, and bread is nothing but carbs.
I mean when I'm at a cafe in Paris or Cassis or Montpelier or Marseille or Nice, I'm the only one there not speaking French.
Maybe they don't eat that at home, but I wouldn't know that. I'm commenting on what I see as a traveller. As a traveller, it's hard to have control over healthy options in France, especially with the funky restaurant hours France has.
Maybe there are lessons in OP's experience.
It's not fucking no-carb diet or kale chips that saves you.
In general, my European brethren EAT LESS than Americans. Period. It's not health food for any of us most of the time, but portions are reasonable.
Edit: and generally people eat twice, maybe 3 times a day. Not munching on stuff through the day.
It's not fucking no-carb diet or kale chips that saves you.
In general, my European brethren EAT LESS than Americans. Period. It's not health food for any of us most of the time, but portions are reasonable.
Edit: and generally people eat twice, maybe 3 times a day. Not munching on stuff through the day.
I had missed the bit about water ... Are you for real ?
Do you know that you just need to ask for tap water and they bring it to you in a jug for free And the bread and butter are also free (in spain you might have to pay for bread though ...)
Man I feel like you went to tourist traps and got fucked because well they can easily spot an American tourist and now you're stuck with these completely distorted views about our food and diets. Fucking lol.
Well if it made you feel better about your own country I guess it had some upsides. But as someone who's been to the US countless times and spent extensive periods of time there I can tell you that you're delusional. The only good thing is that fast food is way cheaper in the US and that you can find food everywhere 24/7. A
Do you know that you just need to ask for tap water and they bring it to you in a jug for free And the bread and butter are also free (in spain you might have to pay for bread though ...)
Man I feel like you went to tourist traps and got fucked because well they can easily spot an American tourist and now you're stuck with these completely distorted views about our food and diets. Fucking lol.
Well if it made you feel better about your own country I guess it had some upsides. But as someone who's been to the US countless times and spent extensive periods of time there I can tell you that you're delusional. The only good thing is that fast food is way cheaper in the US and that you can find food everywhere 24/7. A
PdotMichael
Banned
Based on OECD data, not even close.
Although Europe isn't one country and culture, so UK has a way higher obesity rate than Norway.
yeh we're pretty fucking chunky here
People always celebrate beer as german national beverage, but it's actually coffee/muckefuck.
You know, Germany is automobile nation too. The Autobahn isn't only for the dutchmen. Also no, I don't think there are many countries fatter than the USA, probably none in Europe.
I've asked for tap water and received mean looks
they come and pour me a tiny bottle of Evian instead.It's not always but it's frequent. I try not to eat near any tourist spots. In Cassis today, a restaurant finally poured me some tap water.
It was the worst in Germany.
European here, been to loads of places in Europe myself.
It is true that bread is pretty much in every meal in western Europe, however one thing that's different than American foods is the size. I'd say sizes in restaurants are about 1/2 the size you'd get in America.
Also if you're going to eat something bad for you, it's best to eat it in the morning, so you have the whole day of being awake and active to process it properly. Hence people eat all the sweet stuff in the morning, rather than in the evening.
I'm not trying to justify European food - we, just like the rest of the world, have been poisoning ourselves for decades. I'm just trying to explain some of the things OP pointed out, because they make sense to me.
What doesn't make sense to me is Italians. Italian culture doesn't tolerate meat AT ALL. I don't have statistics for this, but I'd say they have the least meat in their daily life from all of Europe. While Eastern Europeans eat meat 3 times a day, Italians would eat any bread from pasta to pizza and truly believe it's good for them. The mystery there is how the hell they stay fit. Because they are. lol
EDIT: I also totally forgot to mention that outdoor/restaurant eating is not nearly that popular in most of Europe. Most countries, with the exception of the UK perhaps, see going out to a restaurant as a luxury, something you do for a show off, rather than to eat good food, because nothing ever beats home made food. Europeans just cook shit. There you go.
It is true that bread is pretty much in every meal in western Europe, however one thing that's different than American foods is the size. I'd say sizes in restaurants are about 1/2 the size you'd get in America.
Also if you're going to eat something bad for you, it's best to eat it in the morning, so you have the whole day of being awake and active to process it properly. Hence people eat all the sweet stuff in the morning, rather than in the evening.
I'm not trying to justify European food - we, just like the rest of the world, have been poisoning ourselves for decades. I'm just trying to explain some of the things OP pointed out, because they make sense to me.
What doesn't make sense to me is Italians. Italian culture doesn't tolerate meat AT ALL. I don't have statistics for this, but I'd say they have the least meat in their daily life from all of Europe. While Eastern Europeans eat meat 3 times a day, Italians would eat any bread from pasta to pizza and truly believe it's good for them. The mystery there is how the hell they stay fit. Because they are. lol
EDIT: I also totally forgot to mention that outdoor/restaurant eating is not nearly that popular in most of Europe. Most countries, with the exception of the UK perhaps, see going out to a restaurant as a luxury, something you do for a show off, rather than to eat good food, because nothing ever beats home made food. Europeans just cook shit. There you go.
2-4/5 is usually the slowest time at restaurants in the US. Some places will actually close during those hours and then re-open for dinner. Those places are definitely in the minority, however.
I personally like to eat a bunch of small meals throughout the day. I'm not a fan of eating until I feel full--just until I'm no longer hungry.
gutter_trash
Banned
the more South in Europe you go, the better the food gets.
the more North in Europe you go, the more drunk they get and care more about their alcohol %
the more North in Europe you go, the more drunk they get and care more about their alcohol %
I actually found this to be most frustrating because it is useless stubbornness. Sometimes I've been driving in a car for hours or been on tours for hours and I haven't had a good meal all day. The fact that I might have to wait until 8 pm to eat if I missed lunch is cruel and unusual punishment in the name of obsessive punctuality.
At least in America, if I'm desperate, SOMETHING is open.
Do you think ya love cars more than germans?
I'm not sure, I've been totally satisfied with my portion sizes in Europe. Nothing has been tiny in comparison to the U.S. I have found the food I've ordered to be comparable in size to what I normally order in the U.S.
Because we have standards and water-reclamation. drinkable water is heavier regulated and must fullfill more health standards than the bottle of water you can buy in supermarkets. Even if its just used to flush the toilet.
We are not only paying the water we get out of our pipes, we even pay for the water that gets down the drain! Because water reclamation is costly but for the future!
I'll gladly pay for water and not get diseases so that i dont have to use our free healthcare.
I've asked for tap water and received mean looks
It's not always but it's frequent. I try not to eat near any tourist spots. In Cassis today, a restaurant finally poured me some tap water.
It was the worst in Germany.
I'm very sorry about that. Don't be afraid to ask them again and tell them you won't be paying for any water. French people can be really shitty with tourists. That's something I'll always be ashamed of
At any restaurant, right when they give you the menu just say this " Une carafe d'eau s'il vous plaît ".
MikeHattsu
Member
Well, you could go to McDonald's... ;p
Me? No. The country as a whole? Yes. The Germans build their cities for people. The US still tries to build them for cars
Uh USA water is clean and drinkable too and it and the bathrooms are free. It's cleaner than bottled water. But cool, man.
Munching was hyperbole. My post had plenty of hyperbole for storytelling purposes. I thought it was easy to spot.
Shake Appeal
Member
Ask again. They're not allowed to do this by law.
Update: I checked, and German restaurants are actually allowed to decide themselves whether to provide free water or not. The fuck.
I usually go for 3 coffee beans and 1 crouton myself
Uh? Or it could be called discipline. But as you said the results are there anyway, in terms of obesity you can clearly see the results.
It might have come off as an attack but the poster saying that obesity came when most European countries started adopting american fast food is kinda true.
It didn't appear miraculously when fast food got there obviously, but the numbers did went up and way faster.
Also when you eat at fixed time you don't "feel hungry" in the afternoon, you feel hungry because you went dumb and didn't eat. Which is also another point that seems different from america, we take our time to eat, if it's possible we will never rush to eat our meal or to eat something fast.
You can get a bit hungry in the afternoon but just a small collation (fruits, energy bars or whatever) is sufficient until the next meal.
Pitbull, definitive pitbull.
Do they now? Anyway, I am pretty convinced that it's hard to beat Germany's love for cars.
I'm very sorry about that. Don't be afraid to ask them again and tell them you won't be paying for any water. French people can be really shitty with tourists. That's something I'll always be ashamed of
At any restaurant, right when they give you the menu just say this " Une carafe d'eau s'il vous plaît ".
I'm keeping this phrase! I got two more nights in France so I will try it out. I'm told my ability to mimic native accents is good and my French sounds good so maybe it will work haha.
sixteen-bit
Member
y'all aint clap tho
PdotMichael
Banned
not sure if strange food ad or disgusting fetish material.
It might be free of bacteria due to chlorine, but it also tastes like shit because of that. How can they put that water even in your drinks as ice cubes?
maniac-kun
Member
Where you get your sausage idea from in your German food comment? From some restaurant you visited? Maybe its just your stereotype of what you think German food is.
Faynwulf
Member
I hope you were in Bavaria when you were eaing Sauerkraut because nowhere else do we care about that stuff. And Germany is only "famous" for it because most people associate Germany with Bavaria, which is just not true. Here in the north we eat a lot more like a Scandinavian would. For example most of my family eats fish more than once a week. Something you wouldn't see farther in the south. Food in this country is as different as in France or Italy.
TLDR: Yeah OP you probably only ate in Tourist traps. There are no "German Restaurants" in Germany. lol
TLDR: Yeah OP you probably only ate in Tourist traps. There are no "German Restaurants" in Germany. lol
It's clearly bavarian, so the answer would be "yes".
What. I was born and raised in eastern Saxony and currently live in Hamburg. Plenty of ordinary german restaurants where I lived. Though less in Hamburg where almost everything looks like some international franchise. But lots of genuine family businesses in and near Dresden.
My point was particularly excluding high obesity rate areas in the US. Because place in the US can be pretty comparable to Europe. Which is entirely in line with most of the first pages thinking, that the OP was just hitting touristy areas in Europe that skewed his perspective.
Never the difference in cuisine even if fattier, saltier or sweeter is presented in an entirely different manner in the US. Where HFCS and giant portions reign supreme. Where the EU has much tighter restrictions on food in general.
Most high obesity areas in the US tend to suffer from food deserts, urban decay, poor walkability, low income population. It tends to be worse down in comfort food nation US too (the south.)
That's irrelevant to the fact I personally think it's ridiculous if you're implying to me that it's wrong to serve food at those hours solely to cockblock people from eating at weird hours. Since when is it someone's place to judge when to eat? I've had a busy-ass schedule and some days I'm lucky if I can even find time for breakfast or lunch. How do people study in France? I was an engineering student in the U.S. and there were days I was studying or working at bizarre hours and had to eat at bizarre hours. I appreciate a restaurant that can serve me.
I'm also 6'3" and weigh 165 lbs so I'm definitely not obese. I'm skinny and I don't overeat.
It will make you feel shitty to death but if "service inclus" is written on the bill you don't have to tip at all.
Edit:
We take a break? We home cook something easy? Or sandwiches? We don't mess with meal. Everybody from bosses to teachers to parents will tell you to stop working/studying at least a bit to go eat.
I'm not saying it's not shitty, as I've said I would love to have 24h services in anything in France. But what would be the point if it's for the vast minority of people that didn't eat. Almost everyone eat between 11-2 so that would mean staying open and paying for staff for a ridiculous number of clients.
Though in Paris there's actually a lot of restaurants with "service continu" which will at least serve you between 11-22. And it's most big cities throughout Europe.
Complain that he can't eat at every time of day, complain that we don't deserve to be thin, the dissonance is strong here.
They get time off to eat maybe, and make their own food.
Biergartens? Germans don't eat there? Everyone there was speaking German...the waiters hardly spoke English. And yeah that was in Bavaria.
In Berlin I didn't really eat German food. I ate at a small hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant and some doner places to save money.
I don't deny that they love their cars or that they love them more than the the US. But German and European cities are more liveable than US cities, as a whole, for pedestrians, people, cyclists and transit riders. With the exception of a few Amercan cities, you must own a car to survive, and transit riders are viewed as second class citizens in cities not names NY, SF, Chicago, Seattle, or the usual suspects.
Thankfully it seems to be changing....somewhat.....but the remnants of sprawl and what it has down to our public health (and much, much more) will be felt for a very long one to come.
Forgive me for saying this, but QUE? I I've in the Uk and eat healthily, and in my experience mainland Europe is even better. Sure, you get a lot of eating habits like anywhere else, but at least it's stuff like locally grown bread and stuff instead of processed foods or crisps n' shit.
I'd say where Europe falls short is alcohol intake... which people argue over anyway. Bottle of Red Wine a day? Good, bad? Eh, who cares, it happens anyway.
I'd say where Europe falls short is alcohol intake... which people argue over anyway. Bottle of Red Wine a day? Good, bad? Eh, who cares, it happens anyway.
This is so bizzare to read.
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