I recently got back from riding in Montana. One night I stayed in Butte and went out for dinner. Big steaks that come with bread and butter, salad and soup, choice of potato, which included frech fries, and ice cream for dessert. The soup of the day was...wait for it...beef chili. And, of courss, you can get a host of fatty sauces for your steak. I saw people ordering apetizers and steaks with all the trimmings. I had the 18 oz. rib eye, roasted red potatoes and salad, skipping the chili and ice cream. They waiter thought I was a bit daft. Nearly everywhere I went I saw very large people.
As far back as '99, when I rode across the country, I was astonished at what people were eating and the portions sizes, especially in the midwest. One night we went out to dinner near Lake Itsasca in MN. The place advertised all you can eat fish baskets. Sounded healthy enough. Turns out it was deep fried perch. Same sort of thing happened later in IA. Ordered the cat fish special at a small town cafe. I was brought not one, but two big, deep fried catfish. The next day, we got hosted in Davenport for two days. In return for the host allowing 13 strangers to crash all over his house, we took him to The Machine Shed, a noted local place. There was a 22 oz. stuffed pork chop on the menu. The sides were served family style, in giant bowls. Nearly everyone there was large. When they say down they had these looks on their faces that said "Bring it on!" After dinner, we went to some famous local ice cream place. The sundaes and other concoctions locals were eating were made with 5 or more scoops of ice cream and toppings like butterscotch sause and mounds of whipped cream. You could buy 5 gallon tubs of ice cream to take home.