Stop Once Satisfied

I remember someone telling me the big difference between America's eating habits and Europe's habits.  He said that Americans finish eating once the plate is empty.  Europeans on the other hand stop eating once they are no longer hungry.  That cultural difference is why America has the higher obesity rates.  

Well, so that person claimed.  But, whether or not it is true, it stayed with me.  

But I think that's something worthwhile to think about.  Is a lack of satisfaction a large reason why we have enormous obesity problems in the US?  If people were trained better to stop once satisfied, would that eliminate a lot of behavioral problems we have today? 

Perhaps the obesity problem is deeper than that.  Maybe it is genetic.  Or maybe overweight parents often bear overweight children just because they eat the same unhealthy foods and pass on similar poor habits. 

Either way, the basic formula seems pretty simple - if you want to lose weight, reduce your consumption.  Thinking like a behavioral economist, maybe there are small nudges we can give or help people put on themselves that will reduce consumption. It could be something as simple as a poster that reminds them that x amount of people in their community have food insecurity.