The USDA portions are small. Mine are large. Consider the bare facts. A serving of pasta, the government says, is a half-cup, cooked. That's about 32 strands of spaghetti, four twirls of the fork. . .
Some couples consume an entire pound box of spaghetti in a single meal.
In a society where biggest is often seen as best, we feel ripped off when we get a normal portion. This may be a large part of the reason for our expanding American girth. I remember as a boy eating at the Town House in Cairo. Mary Ella and I started ordering one meal and we still can't eat it. And there are buffets which is another story.