Buffets and obesity: is there a connection?

Objective To determine whether buffets have become more common over the last 30 years in Greater Toronto. Methods We measured advertising for buffets (newspapers and Yellow Pages) as a proxy measure of buffet restaurants. Searches were done in two time periods: 1963–1988, and 2011 (up to September). Results Between 1963 and 1988, we found 6 advertisements for buffet restaurants in Toronto (4 in the Yellow Pages and 2 in newspapers). In 2011 we found 16 advertisements (all in the Yellow Pages). Comment Buffets are restaurants that allow unlimited amounts of varied food to be eaten at a fixed price. They combine together several factors that encourage an excessive intake of food energy: they are a fast‐food restaurant, customers can take large portions, and (in most cases) they supply unlimited amounts of energy‐dense food at a relatively low price. Virtually no research has been conducted on the relationship between buffets, energy intake, and weight gain. Our findings indicate that there has been a large growth in the number of restaurants in Toronto offering buffets during the time period that obesity rates were climbing rapidly. These findings are consistent with the possibility that buffets are a factor involved in the epidemic of obesity. Future studies should measure actual food intake when customers eat at a buffet.