[natejenkins]

As an American living in Europe I would call pastries for breakfast a western breakfast. The idea that the US eats nothing but sugar for breakfast and this is unique in the world is way off base. Among my friends and colleagues, mostly Europeans from many different corners of Europe, it is exceedingly common to eat some form of croissants or pastries for breakfast. I think the difference lies in the portion sizes and density of these pastries.

I'll have pastries once a week when I have breakfast with my wife, but otherwise I tend towards yogurt, bananas, and a handful of cereal. I'm not on the "sugar is evil" bandwagon. I definitely do manage my weight but it is more about calorie control than sugar intake. A serving of yogurt will have between 100 and 220 calories depending on if it is plain or has a bunch of good stuff added (I like both), a banana around 100 calories, and a handful of cereal about the same. I love sugary cereal and don't want to eliminate it from my diet. The difference between how I consume it now and when I was a kid is that I really eat one handful at breakfast time whereas in my childhood would eat one to two large bowls.

Granola is the killer. The crunchy kind of granola has more calories per gram than sugary cereal and unfortunately is more dense. I see many people trying to eat a healthy, low calorie yogurt and granola breakfast only to fill the bowl with granola. Game over.