Eat Street: How the world portions its meals

Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s call to specify portion sizes in upscale restaurants and hotels has thrown the hospitality industry in a tizzy and thrown open a debate on whether the state should have a say on how an average Indian should eat. While the impact of the government intervention isn’t clear yet, the fact that food portions aren’t what they used to be the world over is beyond dispute. According to research by the US’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, an average restaurant portion is now four times than what it used to be in the 1950s, leading to not just wastage but obesity as well. We know Indians love their food, and oodles of it, but how does the rest of the world eat? Here’s a look:

(Information Sources: webmd.com, livestrong.com, insurancequotes.org, worldobesity.org, health.com, dailymail.co.uk, World Health Organisation)