What Italians Eat in a Day: How Do They Stay Slim Eating Pizza and Pasta? | Easy Italian 137

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Pasta, pizza, ice cream ... What do Italians eat in one day, and how do they stay on the line?

Pasta, pizza, gelato... Cosa mangiano gli itailani in un giorno, e come fanno a rimanere in linea?
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Easy Languages is an international video project aiming at supporting people worldwide to learn languages through authentic street interviews and expose the street culture of participating partner countries abroad. Episodes are produced in local languages and contain subtitles in both the original language as well as in English.

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Host: Katie Harris
Camera: Matteo Alabiso

#learnitalian #easyitalian #easylanguages

[insightinspiration]

I love Italy, the language, the food, the lifestyle. It’s just a beautiful country!

[ImissSaganCarl]

They usually don't drink sodas with their meals, they drink water. They don't go on alcohol binges like some other cultures. They don't use tons of condiment with their food. They use less butter, especially in the south of Italy, than some other cultures (especially Northern Europe and North America). They eat more dish but the fish is usually not battered. They eat lots of vegetables.

[Lorena-uvzo]

Another reason? Italians drink only water (or wine moderately) when they have lunch or dinner. The reason is that we think that sweet beverages ruin the taste of the food.

[Eltern]

I am from Austria, just north of Italy. I know why Italians stay slim, here are the reasons:
1. Only little processed food. Most food is done freshly with local and high quality ingredients. By eating like this people do not have cravings for food all the time.
2. Portion size: The normal portion in Italy is not big at all.
3. Activity: Most people walk as cars are not that common as in the US. Also, people like to go for a swim, play soccer or do other outdoor activities.
4. Eating culture: People don't just swallow their food in front of the TV as is very common in the US, but they like to have a proper family dinner.
5. Water over soda: Soda is only consumed in small quantities

[tarra]

As a foreigner in Italy I noticed couple of things. Portions they eat are very small compared to the other countries (one tiny corneto per colazione, 110g of pasta per cena); they are very active every day, meaning they walk/cycle to school/work/shopping; they eat slowly/while sitting, meaning there is enough time for their brain to get signals from their stomach that is full, smth like in Chine/Japan.

[charlesmyers]

I feel like the key is that most Italian food is freshly prepared and very simple in terms of ingredients, free from processed additives and preservatives.

All of the great traditional pasta recipes have very few ingredients, in-season, well-prepared using proven techniques that respect the ingredients.

Italian chefs respect that (in the words of the great Marco Pierre-White) “Mother Nature is the true artist” and the job of the cook is to allow the beautiful natural flavour of the ingredients to shine.

[coffeandbagels]

Italian here and I think there are a lot of things to take into consideration: first of all, the Mediterranean diet is very healthy and balanced. Lean meat, fish, good carbs and fats(virgin olive oil is a must). Also, lot of vegetables and fruits, and seasonal too. You could find strawberries all year around in other countries, but not in Italy or in Europe, I believe.
Second of all is the relationship we have with food: we love to share meals, most of the times the dinner table is where you have conversation with your family after a long day, or with your friends. Even lunch breaks at work are pleasant and you usually get at least 1 hour to have your lunch. This is extremely helpful because you take your time while eating, instead of shoving down your throat more food than you need.
Third: we move a lot, especially in cities. We walk, we bike, we just take a nice stroll to go to the supermarket or to the pharmacy. Walking is a great form of low stamina physical activity that keeps you healthy and, most of the times, fit as well.

[DiegoBrooklyn]

Complimenti alla ragazza inglese perché in 30 anni non ho MAI sentito parlare un italiano così perfetto da un inglese. Ho notato una cadenza diversa solo in due sillabe ma difficilmente avrei riconosciuto che fossi inglese. Wow. Brava.

[RobertoFadel]

I am italian. I travelled a lot and this I noticed: in other countries they use lots of sugar and lots of sauces with milk cream etc. Also the portions are huge. When I go with my family ( 4 persons ) to a restaurant in other countries we order 3 portions and mostly we cannot finish it. It´s only a bad habit to eat that much, there is no need for it. Also they mix too much, drink to much beer and are not concentrated while they eat. In that way you just eat big portions without thinking about it . We italian give a big importance to the food and the pleasure begins already during the cooking. I also noticed that foreigners eat huge portions already for breakfast mixing every kind of products sweet, salty etc.. In Germany they put milk and cream everywhere, even in the " fitness salad" in the sauces for the meat, in the soups, everywhere. In Italy we say : if you cannot cook then you put cream, tons of salt or ketchup into the food.
Also we italians do not eat so many sweet dishes like cakes, candies, chocolate...
You want an example ? : pasta alla Carbonara, , a typical italian pasta dish, is without cream, no one italian would put cream in it, but elsewhere they think that this is a main component of this dish. Its just because they just cannot create a good taste without it.

[NC]

Italians walk! Europeans walk! Americans drive!

[ShipWreck]

I lived in italy for 3 years and I'd say its mostly due to portion control and that they walk more. They do not eat junk food either like us americans. Almost everything they eat is very natural and made from scratch.

[TravelGuy]

I am half Italian, my mother is from Napoli. In my opinion, Italians are not overweight because meals contain only a few ingredients and very high quality fresh ingredients. Almost no processed foods or preservatives. Italians also walk a lot.

[hugodaniel]

Italian people are not just slim, but also very beautiful and cheerful, both women and men.

[creativecook]

I am Canadian but my parents were the children of Italian immigrants. My parents were both very slim.They grew their own vegetables and we ate from the garden all summer. They used quality ingredients, cooked from scratch, not a lot of processed foods, not much snacking, were not big dessert people, ate reasonable portions (we had pasta and pizza all the time), and lots of walking, and activity.They only sat down for breakfast on weekends, drank strong coffee in the morning on weekdays (not breakfast), but both smoked (unfortunately) because they grew up in the era when it was popular. I am 59 and obesity wasn't very common here either until everyone started to drive all of the time, eat more takeout in large portions, spend a lot of time online, and subscribe to fad diet culture.

[phonix-]

I love the subtitles in Italian, makes me want to learn the language

[susanmccarthy]

I could listen to this all day! Italy is my favorite vacation country!

[emanuelac.]

I'm italian and I lived in various foreign countries. I can say the differences are :smaller portions, olive oil instead of butter, almost never fried stuff as well as high processed food, many fibers (every meal contains fruit, vegetables), low quantity of alcohol.
Even assuming the hypothesis of a faster metabolism, the diet is the most important factor. 😄

[HUSTLATHATREPENTED]

Because Italy’s food is not only better in taste, but the quality of the products

[ZAGOR]

As an Italian who lived for several years in the US and a pro-Chef, I can honestly say that the truth lies between many comments posted here; perhaps a combination of them.
Generally speaking, food plays an essential role in our culture, primarily a family gathering event; thus, quality and TASTE become a must.
Abundance, maybe because of ancestral agricultural culture, was never part of our "way of life".
Smaller portions, (just whatever you could grow, fish or catch) healthier ingredients, mostly vegetable fats (olive oil), and most of all the pleasure we take from eating play a big factor. Pair that with a more dynamic lifestyle, partially forced by the way our cities are built, since most "old" European and Italian cities were "designed" for the circulation of walking people first, then grew to accommodate chariots and in more modern times cars. Walking is embedded in our culture. And somehow even the "fat-body-shaming" that we jokingly use with each other is used as a warning sign of obesity, and mostly accepted without taking offense; we just laugh about it and carry on.

Basically the opposite of what I note in the US.
People take their cars everywhere because of the huge distances needed just to go get groceries, and partially for laziness. Packaging sizes are all XXL, and despite the many "low-fat" versions of most items, sugar content is ridiculous. Obesity is not just accepted, but somehow endorsed by the junk food schools teach kids to eat. And in name of "politically correctness, " nobody says anything. Healthier food habits start early on in life, by example.
Furthermore, seems to me that QUANTITY is valued more than quality.
Walk more, eat less, and embrace TASTE over quantity.
Ah...almost forgot: LOVE more...much more: love what you eat, love the most significant around ya, love your body, love your life.😉😉

[dmchez]

I lived in Italy for 3 years and I noticed a good amount of "fat shaming". I think that in a culture where it's not accepted that fat is normal then there's a lot more conversation of weight. I felt that people were quick to warn you "don't eat too much of that, it will make you fat" or they might say "you're getting a little chubby" or similar. Not to shame you but as a reminder or warning. In the US it's not politically correct to say that kind of thing.. and its also accepted in many parts of the US that getting fat is normal or inevitable.