American Restaurants Plan to Reduce Portion Sizes

As restaurants compete, portion sizes have continued to balloon.Photo by(The author)

Pressure from nutritionists and policymakers has restaurants reconsidering portion sizes

Each year Americans waste an average of 325 pounds of food per person. You don't need me to tell you — that's a lot of waste.

Economists estimate each year wasting food globally costs about $1 trillion. For this reason, your Big Mac may soon be called "Small Mac."

Back in the 80s, when "everything was bigger," portion sizes in America ballooned. Even the average serving of spaghetti and meatballs doubled.

For over a decade, nutritionists and policymakers have been trying to link large portions of food with health problems due to obesity. Their call for a more "health-conscious society" may have finally been heard.

Consumers seem to agree with nutritionists. According to a report, 75% of customers say they want smaller portions for less money.

Restaurants, which have been battling rising food costs for years now, are in favor of serving smaller portions. Their only problem, however, remains keeping value-minded customers satisfied.