America's overweight problems are well known. I suspect that one of the causes could be a shift away from Europe's diet customs of Americans from Europe to the stuff that is eaten here now.
Therefore, I am interested in what the Europeans eat on a daily basis. Brother Oz-Wales, Listener-Germany, and Slatibartfas-Austria, please describe the staple foods that are eaten in the EU. Is black bread still a staple, and if it is, what is in it?

I don't ever think I've seen black bread in my life.
I don't think I can describe what we eat, because to me it's just normal food. I will tell you, however, what an acquaintance of mine told me. She went on an exchange to America, and stayed with an American family for a bit. She told me that they didn't eat any vegetables, and that they eat out nearly every day.
Of course, that was just one family.
The traditional, standard British dinner is "Meat and two veg" meaning one type of meat and two types of vegetables.

I should also say, that the British have much more similar diets to Americans than the rest of Europe.

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... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

British culture in regards to eating, from the exhange students I've met and gotten to know, is not much different from ours here. I think today most Americans depend on processed junk as 70% of their intake, and 30% may be from miscellaneous whole wheat, fruits, veggies.

I don't eat like the typical American. However, I used to, and can say that it teamed with a sedentary lifestyle yields no surprise whatsoever that a majority of Americans are overweight or obese, and our childrens numbers in this regard are climbing very rapidly.

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"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov

Part of the reason is that Americans seriously do not walk very much anymore, let alone remain active in other areas. America used to be able to afford such eating habits with it's industrious lifestyle. The problem is that it never adapted to the more sedentary lifestyle with which we are now accustomed to.

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"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov

Yeah, that's the impression I get. Traditionally, Americans are very active, the whole frontier lifestyle. And later, they continued this lifestyle by doing lots of sports.
But that is less so now. What with TV and all, Americans (as most people in the West) do less exercise. But the eating culture hasn't changed, so they still eat as if they were cowboys.

__________________
... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

"Meat"? could mean: Skeletal meat; steak, roast, etc. Or, it could be organ meat; brains, kidney, heart, liver. Lamb, pork? etc. Could you be more specific?
Same with vegetables. Boiled, creamed, in combination with sauce? Do you guys eat potatoes, or is that the other vegetable?

Meat would be chicken, fish, pork, ham, beef or sausages. Vegetables would be boiled, or roasted.
The thing is, while that's the traditional way we eat, these days it's very varied. We often eat Italian style food, such as pizza or pasta. And of course curry! Curry is very popular, you'll see Indian restaurants all over. Whenever we do get take-away, it'll either be Fish'n'Chips, Pizza, or Indian.

__________________
... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

Sorry, when I say Indian, I don't mean real Indian food. It's Anglicised Indian food. The Balti, for example, which is available in all Indian restaurants, comes from Birmingham in the middle of England. I've never even heard of Massala Dosa. There's Chicken Tika Massala.

__________________
... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

It's a combination of our eating processed foods and not getting enough exercise.

Well traditional Austrian food is a mixture out of a high fat and high sugar diet. As main meal you normally eat pork, some might choose beef, and they health aware chicken etc. And we eat loads of them.
When we dont eat meat, we eat Mehlspeisen. Mehlspeisen are sweat meals, either as main course, or as dessert after the meat main course, or for lunch while drinking coffee.

Americans who come visiting Austria normally leave it with the fix question in mind: How the hell can they eat sooo much meat and sweet stuff? And how can the portions be thaaat big? Normally I am proud when I get to hear this from an American.


I hope I helped you with that dahermit...


PS:
The last time I was a bit stressed and ate out pretty often at the University mensa. The food there is to puke. In order to prevent depression I made today one of my favorite meals. Nothing special, and I dont know if its really that typical Austrian food. But I love it.

Well, I started with an easy made soup with "Backerbsen" (crispy baked little balls you put into the soup, and the soup pretty much was salted and peppered water with soup cube). As main course I made "Wurstfleckerl". Thats a bit roasted onion with cut sausages and a bit of Speck mixed together with a special form of Austrian noodles called "Fleckerl". I ate a cup of salad as side dish to it.


To give you an idea of it. You dont have to make it that fat of course. Thats up to your own style.

PPS:
I looked it up, actually Wurstfleckerl are a typical Austrian/Bohemian meal

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