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By Matthew Rees

Food and Health Fact #201:

A recipe for a less gluttonous Thanksgiving

Follow me on Twitter: @foodhealthfacts

“More and bigger” sums up America’s food culture – and those features burn bright on Thanksgiving Day. Consider the humble turkey. Its average weight today is 31 pounds – more than double the average weight in 1960 (15 pounds).

“More and bigger” shapes your Thanksgiving meal via the medley of options typically available, beyond turkey: cornbread, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, carrot-raisin salad, and pecan pie. Throw in some appetizers and some beverages, and you can easily push past 3,000 calories – exceeding what’s recommended for an entire day of consumption.

(Newsweek points out that the equivalent meal at McDonald’s would be a double Quarter Pounder with cheese, large fries, Chicken Selects premium breast strips, a 32 ounce vanilla triple thick shake, and a 32 ounce Coke.)

The special challenge with Thanksgiving is the plethora of offerings. Studies show that people will consume more when presented with different foods. As Penn State’s Barbara Rolls has written, "the variety of foods offered in a meal can affect how much is eaten. The more variety, the less likely it is that sensory-specific satiety will curb your eating.”

There’s another factor that will influence how much you consume: how many other people are eating with you. A meta study published in 2019 looked at meal sizes of people who were eating with others versus those who were eating alone. Those eating with others had meal sizes 29-48 percent larger than the solo diners. This phenomenon is not limited to humans – the study referenced other studies that had similar findings among chickens, rats, and gerbils.

The solution isn’t to spend Thanksgiving alone, eating a meal with no variety. Instead, focus on what you’re eating – and the size of each portion. (A guide to healthy serving sizes can be found here and the calorie counts in popular holiday dishes are here.) And try not to arrive at your meal famished – that only encourages overeating.

Also, eat early enough in the day to allow for exercise afterwards – even short walks can help moderate blood sugar levels, according to a recent article in the New York Times. And perhaps most important of all, avoid eating in a restaurant. Doing so is all but guaranteed to result in being overserved food that’s high in salt, high in fat, and high in price.

Bon Appétit!