For example, if you dine out in Europe, a waiter almost always puts a bottle of mineral water on your table. By comparison, in Canada water is often left on tables undrunk, in favour of pop, alcohol or other beverages that add empty calories. Just drinking water with your meal—mineral or tap water—can make a big difference to your waistline over time.

We’ve collected ingenious tips like this from 18 different countries, asking leading nutritionists and Reader’s Digest’s network of international editors to divulge the quirks of their cultures that can help us all fight fat. Consider it a world weight-loss tour you can do at home.

1. Spice It Up (THAILAND)

Thai food is among the spiciest in the world. While hot peppers raise your metabolism, the real benefit of food with a little zing is that it slows your eating. “In North America, we eat too fast ” says Dr. Arya Sharma, scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network, “By the time your body signals that it’s full, you’ve already overeaten. Eating slower is an effective strategy to avoid weight gain.”

2. Downsize the Supersizing (UNITED KINGDOM)

In restaurants and at home, the Brits prefer smaller portions, so even their large sizes are smaller than ours, which is perhaps a lingering vestige of the frugality instilled by Second World War rationing, says Simon Hartley, executive editor of Reader’s Digest U.K. Nutritionists say supersizing a meal supersizes you.

3. Sit Long, Talk a Lot (FRANCE)

The French excel at the leisurely family meal—92 percent of French families dine together every night. These meals typically last 33 minutes during the week and 43 minutes on weekends. In contrast, a 2007 Statistics Canada report noted two trends in Canada over the last 20 years: a steep decline in the number of families eating together and shorter mealtimes. Although it sounds illogical, lengthy meals encourage less eating. “It generally takes 20 minutes from the time you’re full for your brain to realize you’re full, so taking longer to eat means you’ll end up eating less,” says Yong.

4. Serve Rice and Beans (BRAZIL)

Brazilians stay slim by enjoying this traditional dish at just about every meal, says Sérgio Charlab, editor of Reader’s Digest Brazil. A study in the journal Obesity Research found that a diet consisting primarily of rice and beans lowers the risk of becoming overweight by about 14 percent when compared with typical Western fare. That’s because it’s lower in fat and higher in fibre, which is thought to stabilize blood-sugar levels. It may seem counterintuitive, but more beans = beach-ready.

“Beans are a great healthy addition to a Canadian meal,” says Melodie Yong, registered dietitian for the Heart and Lung Institute of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

5. Eat at Home More Often Than You Eat Out (POLAND)

Poles typically spend only five percent of their family budget on eating out. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian family now spends almost 30 percent of total food dollars at restaurants and fast-food joints. To save money and pounds, start tracking how often you eat out and how much you spend each month, then gradually cut back. “People who eat out a lot tend to eat less-healthy food and to be heavier than people who do,” says Yong. In fact, the decline of cooking at home, linked in part to the increasing number of women in the workforce, tracks very closely with the rise in obesity over the last 30 years, she notes.

6. Eat Your Breakfast (GERMANY)

An impressive 75 percent of Germans eat breakfast daily, sitting down to a meal of whole-grain cereals, breads and fruit.

Recent studies in Canada show that up to 40 percent regularly skip breakfast. For years, nutritionists have been advising people against skipping breakfast, but recent studies give a better picture of its importance. In one, British researchers discovered that if you haven’t eaten breakfast, your brain’s reward centre will light up more vividly if you see a high-calorie food—making you more likely to indulge. “If you could make just one change to impact the obesity epidemic, it would be to get everyone eating breakfast,” says Sharma.

Keep reading for more weight loss tips from around the world.