Have you noticed the shrinking restaurant meal?

Who doesn’t love to go out to eat?  In the past, the portion sizes at restaurants were so large, I rarely could finish the meal and would often ask for the doggy bag.  Sometimes the portions were so large, that I could only eat half of what was served.  This week, my husband and I ate dinner at a restaurant in Richmond.  The Mediterranean Chicken I ordered was delicious but I noticed the serving size was actually normal and not the oversized piece of chicken I often would be served.  Needless to say, there were no leftovers to take home.  The Taste of Home recently wrote an article, Restaurants Are Shrinking Portion Sizes Right Now – Here’s Why.

Have you looked at the shrinking sizes of items you buy at the grocery store?  Many customers are noting shrinkflation as the number of ounces or the amount of food in a package is shrinking.  But what is not shrinking is the price.  Well restaurants are experiencing the same thing.  The candy bars we buy used to come in packages of 6 and now it has shrunk to 5.  The cheese sticks we buy have more and more empty space at the end of the stick as the cheese is shrinking.  Yelp reports thar more and more consumers are mentioning inflation in their reviews of businesses including restaurants.  And for the first-time restaurant reviewers are now commenting on “shrinkflation” in their reviews. 

Have you noticed the higher prices at restaurants, bars and Fast-Food places?

More and more restaurant customers are noticing higher prices and shrinking portion sizes at restaurants.  Restaurant Business reports Restaurant Menu Prices Inflation Highest in 40 Years.  And this article from February 10, 2022 was reporting on increases in January and prices have risen since then.  In January alone, prices for food eaten away from home in restaurants, bars and in cafeterias “increased 6.4% in January over the past year”.  Why the increase?  Not just food, but materials and labor costs have increased and these costs are being passed on to the customer. 

NBC reports that Prices for meals away from home have increased for nine consecutive months. 

Have you noticed the smaller portion sizes?

Because of the higher prices, many restaurants have been shrinking their portion sizes.  Many reviewers on Yelp noted this is happening at the more affordable restaurants serving items like hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers but also at Italian, Chinese and seafood restaurants.  One lady (makaveli) on Twitter commented: “Is it just me or are food portions at restaurants getting smaller?”  A guy (dalibali) wrote on Twitter, “Is it just me or are sandwich sizes and restaurant portions getting smaller in a lot of places?”

Is there any benefit to smaller portions?

WebMD says smaller portion sizes may be better for your health.  They state, “If your portions are like a majority of restaurants’ serving sizes in the United States, then they most likely exceed the USDA’s recommendation for fat, saturated fat, sodium and calories per meal”.  The smaller portion sizes can actually lead to a healthier lifestyle.  Reducing portion sizes can also reduce food waste.  How many times have you been to restaurants and seen all the food people have left on their plates?  With the smaller portion size at the restaurant I ate at, there was very little food being returned uneaten and my plate had no leftover food as the portion sizes were perfect for me.  Interesting that CDC notes the more food you are served, the more food you are likely to eat.  In Do Increased Portion Sizes Affect How Much We Eat?, CDC states, “Short-term studies show that people eat more when they are confronted with larger portion sizes”.  A blog post noted many health benefits of smaller portion sizes.  “Eating large portions can lead to indigestion and discomfort and in some cases also lead to sugar imbalance in the body.  Eating smaller portions also helps with weight loss, especially in countries with higher obesity rates like the USA (36.20%). 

How do adults respond to differing portion sizes?  A study by Rolls found that the bigger the portion, the more adults ate.  When given a large portion of macaroni and cheese, adults ate 30% more than when given the smallest portion.  Surprisingly, these adults reported feeling just as full and satisfied after eating the smaller portion.  

Livestrong notes some  Benefits of Portion Control Beyond Weight Loss:

1.       Better control of your blood sugar:  when you eat, the carbs in the food you eat, turns into glucose in your blood.  Your body needs glucose for fuel.  But when you eat large amounts of food, your blood glucose levels quickly increase. 

2.       Smaller portion can increase feeling full and help with weight control – When you eat smaller portions your body is more likely to burn up those calories for fuel.  When you eat large portions, the extra calories are stored as fat. 

3.       Better digestion – ever eat a large meal like the Thanksgiving meal and you are so stuffed afterwards?  Or, you eat at a restaurant and only later do you feel like you have overeaten?  Eating too much can lead to heartburn and feeling bloated.

Check out the serving sizes when you go out to eat.

The next time you eat out, check out the portion size.  Is it the same as usual or is the serving size smaller?  The piece of chicken in my Mediterranean Chicken was about 4 ounces.  I have had pieces of chicken in restaurant meals that were 6-8 ounces.  In fact, I have eaten at restaurants that served a half chicken as a serving for one person.  What is a Healthy Amount of Chicken Breast to Eat?  Believe it or not a healthy serving of chicken is just 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.  The next time you eat out, take a look at the serving of meat or chicken on your plate and note if it is bigger than a deck of cards.  

A normal serving of chicken or steak is 3 ounces.  Most restaurants serve a much larger portion of chicken or steak. Source: Timeinc.net

So, yes, many restaurants are shrinking their serving sizes.  But this may actually be better for your health.  What have you noticed?  Have you noticed any restaurant meals or items that seem smaller than they used to be? 

Sources:  Restaurant Business , Restaurant Menu Prices Inflation Highest in 40 Years, NBC reports , Yelp , lady , guy , WebMD , Do Increased Portion Sizes Affect How Much We Eat? , blog post , study ,  Benefits of Portion Control Beyond Weight Loss , What is a Healthy Amount of Chicken Breast to Eat? Image Sources:  Restaurant , Portion Distortion , Serving size