How U.S. Dining is Changing: Inflation, Health, and New Habits are Rewriting the Market. Analysis for Italian Businesses

Many adults in the U.S. are ordering from the kid's menu at restaurants. A new indicator of economic changes and eating habits in the United States.

To cut costs and reduce portion sizes for health reasons. With restaurant prices up 3.9% in a year, the kid's menu offers a more affordable and lighter alternative. Additionally, GLP-1 medications, increasingly common in the U.S., suppress appetite, making smaller portions more suitable.
 

The year 2025 marks a paradigm shift in American dining. Once unthinkable, an adult ordering from the kid's menu is now a widespread and statistically significant phenomenon. According to Lightspeed Commerce, 44% of adults in the United States have ordered from the kid's menu at least once.

Far from being a curiosity, this behavior signals a profound transformation in U.S. food culture and economy.

Eating Out in America Costs More: +3.9% in a Year

According to the Consumer Price Index data, the cost of dining out has risen by 3.9% over the past year.
For many families, dining out has returned to being a small luxury; for others, an expense to manage more carefully. Some consumers are cutting back on outings, while others are choosing new strategies to dine out affordably.

A New Portion Size Grammar in U.S. Dining

Many analysts predict that restaurants will increasingly introduce:

• dual size options (“small” and “large”)
• full menus dedicated to smaller portions
• more flexible pricing strategies
• light, healthy, and low-calorie options

After decades dominated by “super size”, American dining is entering a new phase, more mindful and rational.

What once seemed like odd, questionable behavior is now an indicator of the social and economic changes taking place in the United States.