An ice cream parlor in Vienna sells peanut brittle ice cream presented as the “American Dream.” Americans in Europe are known for eating a lot of peanut butter which is the reason for the headline “American Dream.”
By Leon Olszewski
Different cultures have different eating habits, and Americans are known for eating fast and unhealthy. Some visitors of the US have trouble adjusting to it; others enjoy it.
There is no doubt that the stereotypical American nutrition is unhealthy, but there are different opinions on how bad it actually is. Part of my experience as an exchange student was also adjusting to the American eating habits. Pietro Bologna, an Italian exchange student, and Sachino Naito from Japan each have their opinions on the food in the US.
A first impression for me was that there is so much fast food in the US. Pietro Bologna said, “There are lots of fast food, but I think they are like cafes in Italy: a place where people meet and can hang out,” and as I was spending more time with my American friends, I realized Pietro was right. A fast food lunch is no big loss of money and it doesn’t require a long waiting time, which is exactly what a teenager wants. Although it tastes good and kids can have fun, they should not do it too often because fast food is anything, but healthy.
Another point is that eating times and portion sizes are different. I experienced that Americans like to eat a little bit of breakfast, not a big lunch either and a big dinner at the end of the day. Naito, who used to eat dinner at 6:30 pm, had troubles adjusting to American eating times. “My host family eats dinner at 3:30- 4:00 pm so it is hard,” said Naito. Also, the portion sizes here are significantly bigger for the same price. “A MacDonald large menu in Italy is like a Medium here!” confirmed Bologna.
This is what a typical fast food menu in America looks like. The restaurant offers good food for a temptingly low price but at the cost of customers’ nutrition.
To balance that out, a lot of Americans like to do sports very often which helps them control their weight and health. “I know that Americans are obsessed with sport too, so I knew that I would have the opportunity to keep fit,” said Bologna, who is not worried about gaining weight during his exchange year in Plymouth. He also said “There are more fat people than in Europe, but don’t really see obesity in our high school,” which might be because a lot of students are part of a sports team.
Although those two exchange students don’t fear gaining weight, many people outside of the United States see America as a nation with a lot of obesity in the population. Naito, who is from a country with one of the least obese populations, can see a big difference. “In Japan many people think Americans are big sized. I see a big difference of the people from America and Japan,” she said. The main reason why Japan has so few obesity is because they usually eat vegetables as a main course and meat is usually their side dish. However, for Sachino gaining weight is not a concern, she said,“I am not worried about it.”
Overall, I believe the American nutrition is definitely not as bad as some people in other cultures think, but it surely isn’t healthy either. It will be a challenge for me to stay away from all the unhealthy but delicious things.