Well, those who prioritize "good food" and put food on pedestal as "crowning glories" often get obese.
But that's not being presumptuous or anything.
Indeed. Not at all. Nor is it........a terribly balanced perspective.
But - as with politics, and much else in your society - it is this lack of balance, or nuance, or lack of recognition that many things are complex and not actually binary in form, - this is one of the things I find rather unsettling. A very judgemental society, in fact. Perhaps the Puritans may have had something to do with this.
Is the only choice available in a culinary discussion a crude binary reduction between - on the one hand, - a mindset that regards 'food as fuel' (good grief, what a joyless way to live life), or - on the other, a tendency to bloated obesity?
You know, as a European, some of us come from countries and cultures where a cuisine is viewed as part of ancient cultures, and is to be celebrated, and treasured and is seen as a source of much pride.
Anyway, as a good Norwegian friend of mine put it, "I want the calories I eat to be good calories" by which she meant - tasty calories. Calories from things such as butter and cheese. You don't have to eat quite as much of them as you would perhaps like, - so, you can still count calories - but it is undeniably more agreeable when what you eat is a pleasure to eat.
But I think the lingering influence of your Puritan ancestors means that you - by which I mean many from the US - deplore and disdain the experience of physical enjoyment which can come from a marriage of food and flavour, terroir, and texture and taste.
Appreciation of food and wine is less widespread than it might be, in your world, and this is a terrible shame: After all, several of the Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson comes to mind, as does the wholly admirable Benjamin Franklin - gourmands both - have a deep appreciation for the rich culinary cultures of Europe.
And then, there is the unfortunate fact that in your history you banned alcohol, an act which has left me with a profound distrust of any alcohol emanating from the US.
Indeed, it took considerable persuasion from someone, - a number of someones, including some Europeans - on this very forum to persuade me to admit to the possibility - which I was reluctant to concede because my prior experience of your wines and beers had been so miserably joylessly and tastelessly dismal - that Americans might be able to make decent beer. However, it is with great pleasure that I cheerfully admit that I have become quite a devotee of the products of the inestimable Founder's brewery, a splendid export.