Restaurant Portions Are About to Get Smaller. Are Americans Ready?

Portion sizes in American restaurants shot up in the 1980s and never came down. The average serving of spaghetti and meatballs doubled. Bagels ballooned into six-inch-wide monstrosities. Burritos started to weigh more than a Harry Potter hardcover.

Nutritionists and policymakers haven’t had much success fighting portion creep, which has been linked to health problems associated with obesity. Attempts to legislate soda sizes were shot down. Calorie counts on menus have largely gone ignored and might even be harmful. Even celebrity-dusted public health campaigns from the White House didn’t move the needle much.

But today, a combo plate of economics, demographics and climate science may accomplish what years of official hand-wringing could not: loosening the grip that super-size restaurant portions have on the national diet.

Americans are not likely to break up with endless pasta bowls and half-pound burgers overnight. But the relationship has shifted significantly. More than 75 percent of customers say they want smaller portions for less money, according to the 2024 National Restaurant Association report on the industry.

Restaurants sinking under rising food costs are trying to figure out how to sell smaller servings without upsetting value-minded customers. This month, the Portion Balance Coalition, based at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, began a yearlong study to puzzle out the problem. They hope to sign on at least 10 high-volume chains like Panda Express and Chick-fil-A.

Some restaurants have already taken action. In January, Subway introduced a snack-focused menu that includes smaller bites like $3 hot wraps. Burger King’s largest franchisee shrank its 10-piece chicken nugget order to eight. Panera Bread’s You Pick Two — a cup of soup with half a sandwich or half a salad — is among its most popular menu items.