Alright, first things first. Let’s address the elephant (or elephant-sized portion of food) in the room: no, not all American restaurants serve these gigantic portions. I’m from the United States, and I can vouch for the fact that you will not find meter-long pizza slices often. The comically large portions are often sold for the novelty aspect, and those same businesses probably sell regular-sized pizzas as well. But in general, yes, the portions are likely larger than what you’ll find in many other countries. I’ve been to plenty of restaurants in Europe where I’ve received portions big enough to take home leftovers as well, but the difference is that taking home leftovers is often expected in the US.

Nobody will bat an eye if you ask your server to box up the rest of your meal, because honestly, it’s often more surprising if you can finish it all. Everyone is different, and we all have our own unique appetites. But assuming that every single American is eating meals like these on a daily basis is just incorrect. These photos have been shared on social media because they are shockingly huge!

Part of the reason these giant portions exist is because of social media. If you see a photo of a milkshake that’s two-feet tall on Instagram, you might want to head to the same place and order one for yourself. “Foodstagramming” has been popular for over a decade now, and it can help businesses gain impressive amounts of traction. If they serve an item that goes viral or generates lots of shares and comments on social media, customers will come pouring in asking for the sundae the size of a ship or the pizza that won’t fit in their car to take home.

And when it comes to what types of food content do best on social media, you might not be surprised to hear that salads and smoothies aren’t what most followers are craving. According to one study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, calorically dense food seems to get the most engagement on social media. Cakes, burgers, sundaes, steaks, bowls of mac ‘n cheese, etc. We all love eating with our eyes, and even if we know that giant donut might not be the healthiest choice to have this afternoon, we can at least drool over a photo of it on Instagram.

Ethan Pancer, Associate Professor of Marketing at Saint Mary’s University, and Matthew Philp, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University, explored the idea of why we’re so attracted to fatty foods on social media in a piece they wrote for The Conversation. “Humans are hard-wired to seek foods with characteristics that the brain instinctively recognizes as valuable,” the authors explained. “Seeing calorie-dense foods like those high in fat content (like burgers, pizza and cookies) typically precedes pleasurable consumption, so it is natural that humans visually attend to food.”

“Finding and eating calorie-dense foods typically makes people feel good, releasing dopamine and stimulating pleasure centers of the brain,” Pancer and Philp went on to note. “This suggests that nutritional content can be broadly gauged by a dish’s appearance, and that the simple exposure to calorie-dense meals can make people feel good.” I have to admit, I follow plenty of restaurants and accounts on Instagram sharing mouth-watering vegan donuts, vegan burgers, vegan burritos, etc. that I’ve never actually tried myself. But just seeing the content captivates me, and perhaps, now I know why.

Some of the photos on this list also feature foods associated with challenges that restaurants and businesses promote. They know it’s not normal to eat a 50-pound burger, but if you and your friends can attempt to devour one within 3 hours, perhaps you’ll win a cash prize! (And post about it on social media, of course. Free publicity!) There are countless food challenges out there, so if you’re interested in finding one near you, be sure to check out the Food Challenges website. In fact, this website catalogs challenges from all over the world, so don’t think it’s just Americans who partake in these experiences! 

Everything seems to be bigger in the United States, but it wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, in the 1950s to be exact, a good old American burger with toppings typically weighed about 4 ounces. Today, on the other hand, a full burger is likely to weigh in at a whopping 12 ounces. Even our plates have increased in size to accommodate the American appetite for big portions. In the 50s, the average dinner plate was about 9”, while today’s tend to be 10.5” or larger. And while every American does not have to participate in preparing giant portions of meals, I have to admit that even being exposed to these big serving sizes does tend to normalize them. I know it’s too much, but maybe I just want that much ice cream today! (I’ll find out later that I don’t, when the tummy ache sets in…)

Obviously, we don’t need these massive portions, and if we had never seen them before, we probably wouldn’t even want them. In fact, small children are much better at regulating their hunger, even when presented with big portions, than adults, or even older kids, are. “One study from the US found that when three-year olds were served small, medium and larger portions of macaroni cheese, they always ate roughly the same amount,” Bee Wilson writes for The Guardian. “By contrast, five-year-olds ate a lot more when the portion of macaroni cheese was oversized.” As we get older, we are confronted with big portions everywhere we go, leading us to believe that these are normal, and we often lose track of our hunger cues.  

Now, I would be remiss to discuss these humongous portions of food without warning you pandas to eat responsibly. Yes, we all love to indulge on junk food every now and then, and we totally deserve to enjoy that chocolate chip cookie or burger when the craving hits. But let’s not over-indulge. About 42% of adults in the United States are obese, which can lead to life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Not to mention the fact that monster-sized meals like this tend to create excessive amounts of food waste. So enjoy your greasy treats when you feel like it, but remember that your heart will thank you if you keep meals like these to a minimum so that you can stay around on this planet for longer. And when you do order these big treats, be sure to share with many friends, so you don’t end up having to throw away the majority of that meal you paid for!  

Are you feeling like you’re on the verge of a heart attack just by looking at these photos? Don’t be scared, pandas. They’re just pictures. They can’t hurt you, and if you ever do find yourself in the United States with a massive portion in front of you, feel free to ask to take the leftovers home. Trust me, your server will be used to it. Keep upvoting all of the pics that you find most astonishing, and feel free to let us know in the comments what the biggest portion of food you’ve ever been served was. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring wild portions, and combinations, of food, look no further than right here!