"Is there any evidence that this is what happens in the USA, as in eating out?"

According to data published by catering industry specialists Gira, frequency per week is:


1. Spain (4.3 times)

2. Canada (3.8 times)

3. USA (3.6 times)

4. Italy (3.4 times)

5. China (2.6 times)

6. France (2 times)

7. United Arab Emirates (2 times)

8. UK (1.6 times)

9. Germany (1.1 times)

10. India (1.1 times)

On cost biggest three spenders are apparently:

Spain US$1,931, the US US$1,820 and UAE US$1,584


So yea, that puts them near the top.

As an aside GDP will also be added to by "Take-aways"...I'm not sure if these figures include that as "eating out". If not there's another substantual proportion uncounted.