[Science] Food for thought/International cuisines

i didn't read the article (i will later, too long right now) but as someone who travels abroad a lot i can give a pretty good answer. look at the examples you gave, Italians, Asians, and French. Look at each, pasta is a big food in Italy BUT its not what you are used to here. for one in Italy generally one meal per day is more carb rich and one is more protein rich, and the carb rich pasta is generally far far smaller than what Americans eat and is a part of a larger meal with different sauces and protein sources. so it's not like Italians are actually eating a very high carb diet, and its actually a low carb diet compared to your typical American.

Asians, now this is a little different than Italians here as their diets are generally higher in carbs than the Italian diet due to rice intake. but again portion size plays a major role here, and also despite what many Americans might think obesity is becoming a problem in many Asian countries. noodles are common in Asian too but they use many different sources to make these noodles giving a larger variety which I'm sure helps with carb intake, but also consider that even though rice is big in Asian countries, they aren't eating potato chips and drinking sugary beverages and fruits and lots of pastries, although there are quite a bit of common sweats they are eaten in very small quantity usually. Also I would venture to say many Asian are more active than Americans too.

French, french breakfast is basically only carbs BUT its very small. Breakfast in France is usually a VERY small meal compared to what we are used to in the USA, so although macro wise it might be more carb dependent, the actual caloric intake is actually extremely low. for other meals, French portion size is a fraction of what it is in the USA, and its a huge on variety. While a typical American meal might be 2-3 course, in France it might be 5-6 and all small servings. Also in the USA you typically see the same cheeses, the same meats, the same breads, but in France these are all filled with great variety so I would venture that plays a big role too..

i guess some scientific study can be done to figure out weight gain based on country, but really I think it all comes down mostly to portion control.

/r/keto Thread