What is it with Americans and food? Firstly of course their gluttonous definition of "midsize". Then there are the unaccountably ugly words – arugula, blood sausage, grits. But one word they do terribly well is breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, hash browns – even the words get softly prettier – waffles, and many eggs (devilled and scrambled and Mexican and omelett'd), and syrup and jelly and sausages and potato salad – all on the same plate! – and a silo of coffee. Everyone loves it. Cardiologists blindfold themselves first, but love it.

Barack and Michelle Obama wolfed a team of American breakfasts while meeting Joe Q Public during the 2008 campaign, usually in breakfast diners. Than which there is no finer worldwide eatery. Good people who go to heaven will start their first day there in an American breakfast diner, though their last day on Earth may have ended in identical fashion. This one pictured is the Glider Diner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and I'm not making up any of these words.

Despite that and many other breakfastathons – to be emulated in the coming election campaign – neither Obama seems to have put on any weight. At all. One of quite a few achievements at which the now-vegan Bill Clinton's spikes caught the hurdle. Last month Michelle took on Ellen DeGeneres in a live push-up contest, and won. The same week, her husband noticed Al Green in his audience and sang, rather winningly, the first lines of Let's Stay Together, while looking slim and melting the hearts of a new soul generation. I'm sure there are downsides to the Stress Diet, but these must be the upsides. The lesson? Eat as many American breakfasts as you can, as life is short. But later take a little run, or be a little stressed, and all will somehow be, in the end – not all Americanisms are bad – copacetic.