The quantification of “extra-large,” which has symbolized American food culture, is decreasing. This..

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사진 확대 KFC Chicken Photo [Photo = Yambrand’s]

The quantification of “extra-large,” which has symbolized American food culture, is decreasing. This is because restaurants are reducing the amount of main dishes due to rising food costs and increased use of weight loss drugs.

The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 18th (local time) that several U.S. restaurant industry brands are reducing or adjusting the weight of their menus. Chris Turner, CEO of Yum! Brands, the parent company of fried chicken brand KFC, said last month that 4,000 stores in the U.S. are working on portion adjustment and crispy customization. Asian fusion cuisine chain PFChang, which operates 200 stores across the United States, also introduced “medium-sized” in its main dish last year.

Black Box Intelligence, a market research firm, said the U.S. restaurant industry is facing a decline in visitors and sales for five consecutive months, and analyzed that these restaurants are adjusting their portions due to customers suffering from rising living costs. In addition, it was also found to be threatened by increased use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight loss drugs that suppress appetite. U.S. think tank Land estimates that about 12% of Americans use the drug, and U.S. pollster Morning Consult also believes that users are more likely to eat at home and tend to reduce orders when eating out.

사진 확대 Angry Crab Shack Small Basket [Picture = Angry Crab Shack]

Several restaurant businesses in the U.S. have responded by reducing the size of their food. Olive Garden, an Italian culinary franchise, began offering seven existing menus in small quantities at 900 stores in the United States last month. The company is famous for unlimited refills of soups, salads and stick bread. Angry Crab Shack, a chain specializing in seafood dishes, introduced a small basket menu last year that serves fried potatoes with beer dough cod, cheeseburgers, and fried lobster rolls. The company said it was introduced for cost-effectiveness pricing policy.

Tucci, a high-end Italian restaurant in New York, also began offering an “Olympic menu” aimed at users of obesity treatments last year. This menu offers only one meatball or arancini menu instead of three commonly served dishes, and the price is about a third of the existing menu.

Experts diagnosed that restaurant businesses see reducing the amount of food as a solution. This is because it promotes customer attraction by lowering menu prices and can effectively respond to the recent trend of using weight loss drugs. This is because weight loss drug users are less sensitive to food intake.

Adjusting food quantities is also in line with the policy being pursued by the U.S. government. According to a 2024 study by the international journal Foods, on average, Americans ate 13% more than in France. Public health experts have argued that this ‘distortion of content’ is causing food waste and fueling the obesity crisis in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. also recommended paying attention to the amount of food as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” policy last month.

The FT analyzed, “The trend of providing main dishes in ‘light’ or ‘snack size’ across the United States is coupled with restaurants’ efforts to attract cash-strapped consumers who want low-cost options.”