US overeats as world fights hunger

After having dinner at Clyde's in Washington's trendy Chinatown, a young boy sluggishly gets up to follow his family to the exit. His waitress jokes, "You're stuffed, huh?"

The boy lets out a grunt, saying, "Yeah, I'm full. I feel like I'm going to burst," as he ambles to the door.

Such is the response of many customers who venture into the popular restaurent. One waitress said, "It depends on the dish, but I've never gotten a complaint that it's too little."

But with soaring food prices sparking protests in many countries and more than 800 million people going hungry every day, US food portions are under scrutiny. A lightening of the American plate could ease pressure on worldwide demand, but not everyone is hopeful change will be coming any time soon.

With a bombardment of food ads, many aimed at children, Americans are tempted with an array of food choices. One fast-food chain calls its massive burger a "monument to decadence" while the Wendy's chain calls its "Baconator" a "mountain of mouth-watering taste."

Portion sizes in the US not only exceed those in less-developed countries, but also in the developed world. In fact, Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption in the world, eating 3,770 calories a day, more than a Canadian at 3,590 calories or an Indian at 2,440, according to data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.

In the US food prices are expected to rise 4.5% to 5.5% this year, which would be the highest increase since 1990.

Americans are putting more thought into food buying. High food prices coupled with a slowing economy have led 71% of Americans to eat out less and 48 percent are buying fewer groceries, according to the Food Marketing Institute.

Restaurants are also being hit hard by the rise in food prices. But restaurants are not making big reductions in portions, making only small moves like not automatically refilling bread baskets or introducing calorie counter options.

But large portion sizes are unlikely to fade away since the actual farm value of food is low for restaurants compared to other costs, such as labor, advertising and transportation.