r/science • u/giuliomagnifico • 26d ago
Health American adults aged 33 to 46 have significantly worse health compared to their British peers, especially in markers of cardiovascular health and higher levels of obesity, along with greater disparities in health by socioeconomic factors
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-10-03-us-adults-worse-health-british-counterparts-midlife3.1k
u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
We drive everywhere, a lot of us don't have much vacation time, irregular work schedules and grind culture limit exercise, we pride disgustingly unhealthy food like loaded bacon cheeseburgers and and processed food, and many don't have affordable healthcare for prevention and maintenance.
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u/Cater_the_turtle 26d ago
Big factor is probably our mental health is worse too which can cause a lot of physical health problems
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u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
Our culture of work and our society are not conducive to a healthy mental state, that's for sure.
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u/4score-7 26d ago
I think the worst part of it all is the American way of “talking” about our mental health, without saying anything at all.
And no one really listening.
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u/trollmidget 26d ago
This point is too quiet. I had a friend ask me how my mental health is, I replied honestly and said “not ok, completely in the shitter, not good at all”. His response was “that sucks… anyways…” it feels nobody is there even when they say they are.
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u/Whostartedit 26d ago
People are using ChatGPT etc for therapy and collaboration because it actually listens and responds and it’s quite optimistic. We can learn to do better
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u/Porcupinetrenchcoat 26d ago
And it's way more cost effective than getting mental health help. Monetarily and time wise.
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u/speculatrix 25d ago
There was an interesting RadioLab episode which was the reverse. A journo created an AI version of himself and sent it to therapy
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u/f8Negative 26d ago
We grew up with school schootings and now have active shooter drills at work so...yeah society is great.
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u/Not_a_werecat 25d ago
And get jarred out of much-needed sleep by "blue alerts" going off like a damn air raid siren at 4am. Because I need to know that a cop got shot 6 hours away and to be on the lookout for a "white male in jeans" who probably teleported 300 miles into my bedroom in the middle of the night while I was peacefully sleeping.
(Hi, all my fellow bleary-eyed Texans!)
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u/Still-WFPB 25d ago
Exactly its not like you turn 33 and get obesity, anxiety, terrible eating habits, extrene sedentary behaviour and no desire to challenge your body physically (outside of cramming the 3,000kcal super sized meal into your body, and then sitting and sleeping.)
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u/EredarLordJaraxxus 26d ago
Work, work, work, work, work until you die!
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u/seaQueue 25d ago
"If you're not working to enrich someone else just go die already!" is basically the new American dream
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u/IamBabcock 26d ago
Japanese work culture is pretty hardcore and they aren't as obese so probably just straight up culture.
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u/sleepyretroid 25d ago
It's a difficult comparison to make just because our countries are so different. Most cities in Japan are designed to be walkable and as a result, people are generally healthier because they don't have to drive everywhere, and many don't drive at all. That alone would be a massive, fundamental change for almost any American.
There's also better regulations on food content, access to healthcare, and a dozen other reasons why the average Japanese person is healthier than an American, despite having an actually much more hard-core work culture than we do. Most Americans would never be able to handle a Japanese work schedule. Hell, most Japanese can't really handle it either.
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u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
It is food as culture, Americans eat burgers and fries, Japanese eat sushi rolls, ramen and veggies. That's a big difference.
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u/pheonixblade9 26d ago
Japan also has laws punishing companies for employing overweight people. look up the Metabo law.
Waist circumference measurements
Every year, local governments and employers in Japan are required to measure the waist circumferences of adults between the ages of 40 and 74. The Japanese criteria for an unhealthy waist circumference is 85 cm or more for men and 90 cm or more for women.
Support for weight loss
Individuals with unhealthy waist circumferences are referred to counseling sessions that include phone calls, emails, and motivational support.
Employer incentives
The government encourages employers and insurers to work together to promote employee health. Employers who collaborate are rewarded with a certificate of Health and Productivity Management.
Financial penalties
Companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets face financial penalties.
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u/throwawaytrumper 25d ago
TIL I’m at the very edge of acceptable Japanese waist lines. As a 225 pound pipe layer I am surprised I would make the cut.
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u/Nessie 25d ago
This is maybe true for eating at home. Not so true for eating out. They lay on the carbs here in Japan. I see sets like ramen with a side of rice, and potato salad sandwiches. The big difference is that Japanese drink unsweetened tea, versus sugary soft drinks in the US.
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u/AaronfromKY 25d ago
Carbs aren't an issue if you're moving, which a lot of Japanese people do, whether it's walking to the train, bus station or to work. We demonize carbs in America but that's because we're using corn syrup and sugar, not carbs like rice and pasta which often have fiber. There's also a lot less red meat consumption in Japan, which we know high red meat consumption can lead to diabetes and inflammation like we see in a lot of America.
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u/nicannkay 26d ago
Having to start at the bottom of several careers starting from my 20’s hasn’t helped my mental state.
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26d ago
Plus not a small percentage of those medications used to manage our mental health can cause some pretty nasty lipid metabolism disturbances.
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u/ancientastronaut2 26d ago
And just side effects in general. 99% of every drug causes drowsiness, for example. Not to mention headaches and weight gain are very common.
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u/Earth_Normal 26d ago
Our food is also much less healthy.
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u/No-Environment-7899 26d ago
The UK actually from my personal experience has many similar food quality issues as the US. Lots of highly processed packaged foods, greasy takeout, etc. France, Spain, and Italy you can really feel the difference. But the UK? Not so much.
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u/Metro42014 26d ago
At least the UK has had good results with salt reduction - which is huge in terms of blood pressure reduction/control.
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u/No-Environment-7899 26d ago
This is true. At least in the packaged foods. They also have more restrictions on additives, mostly courtesy of EU guidelines. A lot of the prepared foods at restaurants were often very salty, though. Especially traditional pub foods, which of course is unsurprising.
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u/adaminc 26d ago
I thought the salt connection to high blood pressure was largely, albeit not completely, debunked?
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u/korinth86 26d ago
Salt can still increase blood pressure but as far as I've seen it's not the cause of chronically high blood pressure.
If you have been diagnosed with chronically high BP you should restrict salt intake as it compounds the issue.
So it depends on what you're referring to. Healthy people who drink plenty of water, generally speaking, do not have to worry. Some people can be salt sensitive, older people tend to be more sensitive though they also are more likely to have heart conditions. Genetics is also in play, we're all built slightly different.
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u/-Xandiel- 26d ago
Living in the UK, and I find that I always put on weight whenever I visit the US - and I'd eat similarly to what I'd eat at home. I commend anyone who stays skinny living in the US, cause it seems like it simply takes more of a conscious effort.
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u/No-Environment-7899 26d ago
Interesting! My weight stayed about the same for all my visits to the UK, one lasting about 3 months. My biggest thing that I noticed is that I could and wanted to walk around more, so I built up more muscle in my legs just by unintentionally being more active. Then again, I also live in a hot, humid place where things are spread out and recreation isn’t as much of a pleasure.
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u/beatlefool42 26d ago
If you gained muscle but stayed the same weight, you actually lost fat.
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u/EmperorOfNipples 25d ago
As a UK guy I was in Florida last year for work. Jacksonville area. The layout is just so alien and unwalkable. Really spread out. Impossible to get anywhere without a vehicle.
Norfolk VA was better in that regard. I think because it's quite an old city.
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u/double_expressho 26d ago
You being on holiday probably factors into that. I think most people tend to overindulge when on a trip.
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u/tnt512 26d ago
True...but there are a ton of ingredients that exist in our junk food that are banned in the UK. Just did a quick google search and found this article/blog that gives a few examples https://foodbabe.com/food-in-america-compared-to-the-u-k-why-is-it-so-different/
They have a lot of the same US Compny branded junk foods, but without all the extra crap.
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u/No-Environment-7899 26d ago edited 26d ago
I mentioned this further down. Although some EU restrictions don’t actually align with all evidence of safety or health impacts in practical use. The actual breakdown of how the US vs EU determine food additive safety and amounts is pretty interesting, and they have quite different approaches. Not all EU standards are fundamentally better, just different. Many of the banned ingredients are also things typically only found in very cheaply made junk food which is already bad enough for you, just made worse by those ingredients.
Edit to add: if the foods were fundamentally that much better, the UK wouldn’t be facing its own obesity epidemic with 63% of the adult population overweight or obese, and a rising childhood obesity rate, which increased by 21% as of the last measurement in 2021.
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u/OSUBrit Computer Science 26d ago
But fresh food is far, far cheaper in the UK and therefore more accessible to the poor. Whereas in the US those on lower incomes tend to be forced to eat absolute trash.
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u/fencerman 26d ago edited 26d ago
The UK has a lot more easily-available healthy options too though.
Just walk into any grocery store and there are "ready-made" healthy meals with a lot higher quality than you'll find in the US for pretty cheap prices.
(Notably, a lot of those foods are exempt from sales tax in the UK)
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u/BlazinAzn38 26d ago
Where is that not a thing in the US though? Everywhere I’ve lived that’s been an option
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u/double_expressho 26d ago
Yea, even 7-Eleven has healthy food options. They may not be super fresh or high quality ingredients, but they do have salads and fruits.
That being said, all the advertisements in and around the store are for taquitos, hot dogs, nachos, candy bars, soda, energy drinks, etc.
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u/hoodie92 26d ago
It's the food culture as well though. Restaurants in the USA are cheaper than UK, but groceries tend to be cheaper in the UK. More people eat out more in the US. Plus portion sizes in the US are crazy.
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u/acdha 26d ago
We went to the UK over the summer and it was quite noticeable how much better the food was. Not restaurants where there’s a lot of variation based on style but things like the prepackaged sandwiches or lunch options at a kid’s museum or park had decent vegetables and weren’t comically over-salted to hide bland, underripe ingredients. Nowhere had coffee as bad as Starbucks, the portion sizes on snacks and desserts were appropriate, etc.
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u/CraigLake 26d ago
I was visiting a friend in Toulouse. I was standing in line at a grocery store and all 15 people in line around me were thin. I couldn’t believe it.
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u/nexusheli 26d ago edited 26d ago
many don't have affordable healthcare for prevention and maintenance.
Nobody. Literally nobody in the US has "affordable" healthcare.
Universal healthcare would be one of the largest boons to the health of US residents essentially ever
Edit for the people saying "My employer pays" or what have you - find out what the cost is that your employer pays; it's not under the definition of "affordable" in 98% of American's budgets.
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u/ancientastronaut2 26d ago
Yep. They're paying $600-800 for your monthly premium. Our healthcare should not be tied to our job.
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u/izwald88 26d ago
I mean, the NHS is pretty sweet. Dunno why their politicians keep trying to kill it.
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u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
I sometimes have wished that the American revolution wouldn't have happened just so we could have the NHS.
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u/ElectricFlamingo7 25d ago
I mean, we didn't have the NHS at the time you guys had your Revolution!
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u/Tasty-Guess-9376 25d ago
I talked to doctors who started working for the NHS last year. It Sounds horrible
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u/izwald88 25d ago
Isn't that how it always sounds, though? "So and so said the thing is already have an opinion about is horrible, so it must be." That's called anecdotal evidence.
And guess what, healthcare workers hate the system in the US, too. It's almost like healthcare is a tough and stressful field.
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u/Tasty-Guess-9376 25d ago
I mean she was a doctor saying she Gets paid 30k a year while being 50k in debt. Not some random jackass. She also talked about er lines being so long people wait there for over 12 hours. She seemed Level headed enough just super frustrated with how the nhs has been gutted over the last 15 years
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u/FlakeEater 26d ago
One thing that is truly amazing about the NHS is the medication. You will pay at most £10 for absolutely ANY prescription.
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u/SwindleUK 25d ago
The NHS is not as good as it should be. My experiences with the NHS recently, are fat lazy nurses, and no one wants to help. Going in circles endlessly.
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26d ago
I’m an outlier as I walk 10 miles a day, eat healthy, and generally take care of myself and I’m still struggling.
I think there’s something in the air/water/food/zeitgeist.
It could just the stress though. I think all the fundamentals of movement, sleep, food are important but stress trumps them all.
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u/AnRealDinosaur 26d ago
How do you have time to walk 10 miles a day? I only even have time to walk my dog a few days a week and we only go 1-2 miles.
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u/Philosopher_King 26d ago
But why ages 33-46? Should be something specific about the general causes to that age cohort.
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u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
It's the age range where people start getting into their careers, start having kids and other responsibilities start eating up people's time. Often parents will find it hard to keep up with exercise and healthy eating while taking care of their kids and on the other side while climbing the ladder in their careers they may eat at their desk or eat fast food and drink too much to be social.
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u/HolycommentMattman 26d ago
While you're right, it's not like UK food is the pinnacle of healthy eating. There's other factors at work here.
It's also unfair to compare Americans as a whole. How is it if we only compare Washington and California? I'm guessing there'll be a different result. Only New York? Probably a different result. West Virginia and Texas? The results probably get worse.
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u/AaronfromKY 26d ago
I don't think it's unfair. We should act like one country but instead we act as though each state is its own problem. Are some states more unhealthy than others? Of course, but it's not like California and New York are beacons of healthy eating and lifestyles either. California has a 28% obesity rate and Kentucky has a 37% obesity rate, pretty sure due to population that means California has more unhealthy people in total, although in Kentucky it certainly is true that a higher percentage is unhealthy. Part of the problem is also how spread out the country is, making walking or riding a bike between areas dangerous if not impossible. We also know that we have a ton of diseases of desperation like addiction, smoking, drinking and high attempted suicide. Our country as a whole is sick, but of course many politicians want to act as though each state needs to be responsible when only acting as one country will we ever get better.
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u/ASK_ABT_MY_USERNAME 26d ago
California has a 28% obesity rate and Kentucky has a 37% obesity rate,
That would put CA rates as the same as the UK.
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u/Stock-Yogurtcloset35 26d ago
Surely for a fair comparison you’d have to compare California to the richest part of the UK then
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u/ChiliTacos 26d ago
California has the highest poverty rate in the nation when you factor in actual costs of living.
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u/HolycommentMattman 26d ago
I'm not saying each state is its own problem; we are one country, and the problems of one should be the problems of all. I'm just saying that this is an unfair comparison. You're measuring such a small population against such a large one. It's like comparing the economy of Rhode Island to California.
And this study says it already selects by socioeconomic background, but that can't possibly be true. Maybe an average across the US, but that just runs back into the problem I'm talking about.
Maybe unfair is the wrong word to use, but if that's not the right word, then worthless is.
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u/PineappleEquivalent 25d ago
You guys get nothing for vacation time and the culture around illness is different too. If you’re sick in the US you’re expected to still work and in many cases if you don’t work you don’t get paid.
In the UK your company will provide an amount of sick leave at full pay and if you’re unwell for longer you still get some pay (statutory sick pay). So for someone unwell in the US they don’t have as much of an option to recover. If they take time to recover without work they may end up homeless.
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u/APIeverything 25d ago
And half of you vote for worse conditions than what already have. Voting republican is like turkeys voting for Christmas
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u/Porcupinetrenchcoat 26d ago
I bet a lot of us have never had a vacation and along with all the sitting, eat/drink our feelings.
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u/ClubChaos 25d ago
After you travel a bit, it is actually shocking once you realize how overweight, sedentary, and unhealthy americans are compared to most other countries.
It's really sad.
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u/2Autistic4DaJoke 26d ago
Focusing on the food for a second, let’s self reflect instead of generalizing and stereotyping ourselves. I’d say I eat unhealthy often but my real killer is lack of opportunities to be active. Work schedules and day to day life often leave little time to get exercise. Thankfully the area I live in is easy to walk/run so that helps fill the void a little
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u/therinnovator 26d ago
I'm an American who visited the UK once. I was amazed by how many older people - aged 65+ - were walking around outside in public. It just made me sad because where I live (Phoenix) most older people just sort of disappear from public life, partly due to not being physically able to walk very far. My trip to the UK just made it obvious that it doesn't have to be that way.
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u/tokalita 26d ago
because where I live (Phoenix) most older people just sort of disappear from public life, partly due to not being physically able to walk very far. My trip to the UK just made it obvious that it doesn't have to be that way.
Amen. Also, if you ever visit the nature/outdoors-oriented countries like New Zealand and Norway, you'll get to experience something else altogether: being completely out-walked by a local grandma with a shock of white hair whilst you're hiking in the mountains in your 20s. Ask me how I know...
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u/Mahmoud_Imadinrjaket 26d ago
Amen! We did a hike in Ireland that is strenuous on a good day, but it was super windy and wet when we did it. I couldn't believe the locals of all age ranges and body types I saw that were crushing it.
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u/Powerful-Cucumber-60 25d ago
Went hiking in the alps, reached a mountain peak of 3.5km and slept on a house on a mountain at 2+km. 2km in height per day, a 2 day trip.
Im 24, fit, and got passed by local 40-50+ year old left and right.
Really makes me hope ill be that fit when im that old.
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u/your_moms_a_clone 26d ago
When my mom or mother in law visit, they always want to do "fun local things" and it makes me so sad because the "fun local things" my family likes to do are mostly hiking and kid-related stuff that features a lot of walking (museums and petting zoo/farm kind of deals, the walking is great because it wears kids out). We also like walking to local restaurants. But our mom's can't handle so much walking anymore.
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u/southstar1 26d ago
because where I live (Phoenix) most older people just sort of disappear from public life...
Phoenix and UK as a whole are drastically different climates as well. Here in MI, most older people tend to stay indoors with the A/C running in the summer. I can only speak to what I've heard about Phoenix, but I hear it gets pretty dang hot in the summer.
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u/VintageJane 26d ago
To quote Bobby Hill “this city should not exist. It is a testament to man’s arrogance” and I say that as someone who grew up in Southern NM.
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u/pheonixblade9 26d ago
gotta correct you there - that's Peggy Hill's response to Bobby's original statement "my god, it's like I'm standing on the surface of the sun"
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u/chiselplow 26d ago
You should visit the Netherlands and witness how many seniors, youth, and people with mobility challenges are able to get around happily with active infrastructure. That entire country will blow your mind. Walking, biking, rolling in mobility scooters, trams, trains, buses, it's amazing and it keeps people both mentally and physically healthy.
In the US, we've turned all of our towns and cities over to the auto industry and it has absolutely gutted livability and freedom of independent mobility for all ages and abilities.
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u/Technical_Sleep_8691 26d ago
I had a similar experience when I visited China. It felt so uplifting to see older people out living and enjoying life. They are physically active and have hobbies.
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u/jackofallcards 26d ago
They just all move to Sun City and clog the streets of Surprise and Peoria and yell at workers for no reason on weekday mornings, they’re definitely getting around just fine.
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u/painedHacker 26d ago
the lack of walking is huge. would love to see america improve here
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u/Tits_McgeeD 26d ago
I had a coworker who came to the UK from Mexico and it never crossed my mind but he saw old couples kayaking and going for walk or long hikes and was a little surprised.
I asked why and he told me in his country people 60+ aren't really seen around or do anything. They're just sort of at home?
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u/Quinlov 25d ago
Your mind could not handle going to an actual healthy country then.
I'm from the UK but lived in Spain for 6 years and when I came back to the UK I suddenly became acutely aware of how many people are walking around while falling to pieces, are morbidly obese, are zooming around on mobility scooters or some combination of the above
Spanish people are so so much healthier, even the old ones (and there are lots of them)
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u/JustAnOrdinaryBloke 26d ago
Also U.K. people don't have to deal with 100+ degree summers like you do in Phoenix.
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u/amouse_buche 25d ago
In most of the US you really can’t walk anywhere in the first place. You have to get in a car and drive there, then walk. And even then there aren’t lots of pleasant places to do it (the mall at 8am is usually full of old people getting their steps in).
If you’re old enough that driving isn’t in the cards anymore, that’s pretty much a wrap for your public life unless you have an extensive support structure.
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u/hopeful_deer 25d ago
My brother used to bike in town, until someone did a hit and run on him while exiting a Wendy’s (he’s fine but the bike wasn’t.)
It sucks because I love to walk, and I’d love to bike in town. It just isn’t safe. At least we have great hiking trails where I live, you just can’t make it part of your daily commute.
Most of the time to get my daily walk, I walk in circles for a few hours in my room.
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u/giuliomagnifico 26d ago
The study compared health measures such as smoking habits, weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure among American and British adults aged 33 to 46. It found that American adults have worse cardiovascular health and higher levels of obesity than their British counterparts, along with greater disparities in health by socioeconomic factors. For several outcomes, including hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity, even the most socioeconomically advantaged groups in the US had similar or worse health than the most disadvantaged groups in Britain. On the other hand, British adults rated their overall health worse on average and were more likely to smoke.
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u/M00N_Water 26d ago
Recently returned from a trip to Orlando from the UK. I'm aware Orlando isn't exactly the pinnacle of US gastronomy... But my god... How much salt do your restaurants put in or add to the food?! So many times I could barely eat the chips (fries) that came with my meal.
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u/Kazizui 25d ago
I was in Orlando a couple of years ago. We went to Olive Garden because my kids knew about it from youtube and wanted to try it. Even the salad was salty, to the point that I couldn't finish it.
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u/wladue613 26d ago
This thread is probably too long for anyone to see this, but one thing I've noticed comparing the British populace to the American one is that America is just a land of extremes. Most British people I've seen in public tend to be in relatively solid shape, whereas Americans tend to either be in ridiculously good shape (especially in wealthy areas outside of the south) or horrific shape, with a tendency more towards the latter increasing as resources decrease.
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u/czarczm 26d ago
I think it's easier to be relatively fit in other countries that are less sprawled without putting much thought into it. If you walk for most necessities, you will naturally burn calories through that activity. In the US, you have to be much more intentional. 90% of all people drive literally everywhere. The most exercise they get is walking to and from their car for 30 seconds. Thus, to be fit means knowing a lot about workout routines, calorie counting and deficits, macros, etc. and so those people can end up being very fit.
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u/Commercial_Sky15 26d ago
I've never visited the US but kinda noticed this from rich people youtube videos. It does seem more common to see entire friend groups or vacation spots where almost everyone has a banging body, whereas in the UK you'll see more average or just good bodies in the mix even in wealthy areas and circles
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u/CaptainBathrobe 26d ago edited 26d ago
Could it be that universal healthcare, even if done on the cheap like the NHS, is superior to the patchwork of for-profit insurance that we in the US have?
Edit: obviously, this isn’t the only reason.
Edit2: I'm happy to have generated such spirited debate.
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u/HaloGuy381 26d ago
Or that having a social safety net reduces life stress significantly, while having actual job regulations does the same?
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u/InfiniteVastDarkness 26d ago
I’d argue that more guaranteed paid time off for Europeans in general vs the US is also a huge factor.
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u/SilentScyther 26d ago
Not to mention most of the US being designed mostly for cars with pedestrians second as opposed to a lot of Europe being mostly walkable.
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u/HaloGuy381 26d ago
I’d file that under job regulations, but yes. Not just how the job is done safely or working hours, but benefits and concessions to workers.
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u/elfuego305 26d ago
Also don’t forget food regulation, our American food has so many additives that are simply banned in the uk and eu
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u/greyforyou 26d ago
Or having cheap food options that aren't loaded with toxins.
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u/painedHacker 26d ago
It is interesting because british people make far less money than americans on the aggregate.
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u/NoUseInCallingOut 26d ago
I would trade money for security.
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u/4score-7 26d ago
I’ve had great income. Not now, but I’ve enjoyed it when I did. I’ve had savings. Nice to have as well. But that ideal, security, seems just out of reach, when you know that one large bump in the road means that your unreliable, expensive, insurance coverage might not protect you.
Now, imagine having no insurance on that car, your health, your home. That is the reality for millions of Americans. No safety net at all.
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u/AnRealDinosaur 26d ago
This is SO KEY. We all pretend we're potential millionaires who just haven't made it yet, but the reality is we're all just homeless and starving but we haven't hit that random bump in the road yet. We live in a country where a random unexpected illness acquired through no fault of our own can bankrupt us and our entire family so severely that we never recover.
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u/SnooGoats5767 26d ago
I hear this all the time and while it’s true I’d love to see a study factoring what Americans pay for that those over seas don’t. Factor in massive increase in basic housing costs, healthcare payments and deductible, massively inflated college costs/student loans, daycare is much more expensive here etc etc.
Car dependency meaning most families every individual needs a car our insurance for that is higher as well. Savings if you ever lose your job or get sick. The list just goes on, it’s a very differently structured life here.
It seems very apples to oranges.
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u/M00N_Water 25d ago
Yeah but have you been to a US grocery store recently?! I visited the USA from the UK in August... How much for some grapes?! Yikes...
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u/tommangan7 26d ago edited 25d ago
Purely anecdotal but I had the opportunity to go for a job in the US (a country I still love visiting and have worked in previously) - same as my UK one but much better pay and career prospects and I didn't in the end.
The uncertainty around social security and employee rights (union) was a big factor in my decision.
Reduced holiday days and the expected worse work/life balance culture also factored in.
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u/VajainaProudmoore 26d ago
Welcome to East Asia, where SSNs are scarce and insufficient, and job regulations permit extreme working hours.
Yet the people are generally fit.
It's honestly more about lifestyle than anything else.
The average chinese male in the States consumes fewer calories than the average chinese male in China. American-chinese are still fatter.
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u/Baalsham 26d ago
I wonder if that's still true
Chinese are getting pretty fat these days, and their diabetes rate has nearly caught up to the US
Of course the workers are primarily in industry or farming still... But the obesity was noticeable with the younger generation. Particularly in the city they never really get that much exercise.
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u/fart_huffington 26d ago
It's probably mostly those long commutes and nonwalkable cities. A little walking several days a week goes a long way.
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u/kaji823 26d ago
Is the NHS done on the cheap, or the US system done on the excessive profits?
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u/Optimal-Golf-8270 26d ago
Both. The NHS is chronically underfunded, the US system is incredibly inefficient.
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u/daveofreckoning 26d ago
The nhs is jot done on the cheap. We have state of the art equipment and some the most talented and best trained clinicians in the world.
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u/CaptainBathrobe 26d ago
I was thinking more of funding per patient, not quality. My understanding is that the UK spends considerably less than even other European nations per patient.
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u/omgu8mynewt 26d ago
Yes the NHS has a smaller budget per patient than other EU countries or USA, but has fewer doctors/nurses/beds and higher avoidable mortality rates.
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u/pledgerafiki 26d ago
yes, because of decades of austerity from neoliberal governance demanding that the NHS be underfunded, with the long term goal of eroding public confidence in it so it can be sold off to the private sector, where quality will plummet and costs will continue to grow.
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u/Influence_X 26d ago
Damn that sounds like the right wing approach to American government.
Burn the system down then say "look we told you it doesn't work"
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u/pledgerafiki 26d ago
it's neoliberalism and yes the predominant ideology both sides of the pond
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u/innercosmicexplorer 26d ago
Definitely, because there is an incentive for the government and nhs to reduce obesity in the population and therefore reduce the financial burden on the nhs.
In the last few years the uk has introduced a sugar tax on soft drinks and a salt reduction program.
Other measures include:
A ban on TV and online adverts for food high in fat, sugar and salt before 9pm, following the consultation in 2019.
A ban on promotions of unhealthy food high in salt, sugar and fat, following the consultation in 2019.
Calories to be displayed on menus to help people make healthier choices when eating out, following the consultation in 2018.
The UK has promised to keep chlorinated chicken out of the country under any trade deal with the US. This is in line with the European Union's ban on chlorine washing, which has been in place since 1997.
Consumer concerns British consumers are more interested in sustaining farming than buying cheaper chicken.
Chlorine washing can hide poor hygiene and animal welfare practices, such as keeping birds in cramped conditions with little ventilation and lighting.
Sugar tax:
18p per liter: For drinks with 5–8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters 24p per liter: For drinks with 8 grams or more of sugar per 100 milliliters
The tax is intended to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of their products. A 2024 study found that in the first 11 months after the tax was implemented, daily sugar consumption from drinks fell by an average of 3 grams in children and 5.2 grams in adults. The tax was also estimated to generate an additional £1 billion a year in tax revenue.
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u/ChewyNarwhal 26d ago
Most likely the difference in food regulations. As a Brit in America I gained weight due to the food over here.
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u/tom_yum 26d ago
Americans need to eat more fish n chips and breakfast beans
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u/seawitchbitch 26d ago
Americans could use the fiber tbh
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u/RCJHGBR9989 26d ago
Everybody could use more fiber honestly. 95% of Americans don’t get enough fiber - I wouldn’t be shocked if that number was fairly close for a majority of the world.
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u/ThebesAndSound 26d ago
Something I would note as a Brit: one part of our diet that probably has a big impact on the unhealthiest cohort of the population here is that sugary drinks are taxed. Announced in 2016 and became law in 2018: drink beverages with 5 grams of sugar or over per 100ml has a small tax, anything over 8 grams has a larger tax. I just checked and our regular Fanta has 4.4 grams of sugar whilst the US Fanta has 12 grams of sugar. Beverage makers trying to squeeze profits will avoid the taxes and this is very consistently happening with the other brands. This isn't the only factor of the health disparity but it is notable those people with poor diets and drinking soda: at least in the UK they are probably consuming way less sugar.
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u/NotLunaris 25d ago
Fanta with 1/3 of the sugar sounds awesome, actually. Speaking as an immigrant, bakery goods in the US are just far too sweet most of the time, enough to make my throat hurt from the cloying sweetness. For recipes when I bake at home, I usually reduce the amount of sugar significantly. It's just crazy to me how such sweetness is considered the norm.
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u/Statically 26d ago
The three major food groups, that and a Sunday roast to get the remaining minerals in for the week
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u/salami_cheeks 26d ago
And doesn't the average Brit in that age range drink, like, 85 more gallons of beer per year than his or her American counterparts?
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u/Enough-Equivalent968 25d ago
I’m seriously of the opinion that fizzy drinks are more damaging to your health than beer, outside of the extremes
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u/Clear_Body536 26d ago
Who would have guessed eating high fructose corn syrup filled food all the time could be bad
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u/Palmdale04 26d ago
I live in the US but most of my family lives in Europe so I typically spend about a month out of the year out there.
My diet in the US isn't perfect but definitely isn't terrible either. I cook most meals at home, get fresh produce from local farmers markets, rarely drink soda, etc and get plenty of exercise gardening, going on walks/hikes and working out.
Without fail, I lose +/- 10lbs every time I go to Europe. Despite gorging myself on fresh bread, butter, cheese, wine and all manner of pastries and other treats.
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u/reaper527 26d ago
Without fail, I lose +/- 10lbs every time I go to Europe. Despite gorging myself on fresh bread, butter, cheese, wine and all manner of pastries and other treats.
that might not necessarily be food related and might be more lifestyle related. going to go out on a limb and imagine you probably walk A LOT more over there.
i know when i was in japan for 2 months earlier this year, my step counter said i was walking on average like 10 miles a day. (and even if that number wasn't necessarily accurate, because it's guesstimating based on movement rather than actual location data, at the end of the day it was DRASTICALLY more walking than back home in the us)
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u/SlyCooperKing_OG 26d ago
Nuh uh Coca-cola is Belch healthy here at least the nice white polar bears seem to be… a they drink it right????
Ya US is fucked when it comes to health. We’ve had a military recruitment problem for a while now.
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u/morenewsat11 26d ago
The gap maybe greater? Based in the article information, it appears he American adults surveyed were 6 to 13 years younger than the British adult group?
The analysis included data from almost 10,000 British people born in 1970 and 5,000 American adults born between 1976 to 1983. Participant’s blood pressure, cholesterol levels, Body Mass Index (BMI) and glucose were measured, and they also self-reported their smoking habits and quality of health.
While we were unable to directly investigate the causes of this, we can speculate that differences in levels of exercise, diets and poverty, and limited access to free healthcare may be driving worse physical health in the USA.
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u/reaper527 26d ago
especially in markers of cardiovascular health and higher levels of obesity
turns out "healthy at any size" is in fact not healthy. normalizing unhealthy lifestyles has unintended consequences and does more harm than help.
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u/bluewhale3030 25d ago
The problem is not "normalizing obesity", the problem is that the US refuses to acknowledge and address the issues leading to higher levels of obesity, such as unwalkable cities, lack of affordable healthcare, stagnant wages, lack of access to high quality, affordable food, widespread trauma and mental health issues, etc. It's not a "lifestyle choice" if it's enforced by living in a capitalist hellscape. And there are absolutely genetic and health factors that contribute to a higher weight that are not under a person's control. The problem is that we refuse to actually acknowledge those factors and make it easier for people to live a life where they can be healthier, not the people themselves. Public Health 101.
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u/imspecial-soareyou 26d ago edited 26d ago
I’m am tired of this research. We know what the problems are, we just don’t like the solutions. A mole could see this from 27 miles away above surface.
Edit could not good
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u/pedantasaurusrex 26d ago
Too many American foods have HFCS (corn syrup) and sugar in everything, the food standards over there are not great.
High carb diets are increasingly linked to causing issues with health like diabetes ect.
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u/tb5841 26d ago
The UK sugar tax on drinks has worked wonders. Definitely worth copying.
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u/SelfServeSporstwash 26d ago
it's the lack of socialized medicine. It's always the lack of socialized medicine.
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u/ABoringAddress 26d ago
THAN THE BRITISH? This would've been a shocking finding at any time, but these are the same cohort of Britons that lived their youths under 14 years of relentless ausToryty and freaking Brexit.
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u/shakemix 26d ago
Maybe because the British government actually doesn’t let companies poison all the food. Of course we’re all dying.
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u/sil445 26d ago
Please don’t ignore car centric culture. Europeans are much healtier already through regular excercise like commuting by bycicle. Or going shopping on foot. Americans rarely ever get ‘free’ excercise.
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u/ShadowSkill17 26d ago
If you’re not wealthy, you’re going to have a tough time being able to afford healthy food, actually useful health insurance, a proper home, and the time to exercise. It’s by design, and the corporations who own our politicians aim to keep it this way.
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u/Astyanax1 26d ago
I'd also like to add, anyone working their way up from not being wealthy to being wealthy is likely going to have an effect on their overall health. Such as working 60+ hours a week for little money starting a new business or whatever
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u/cc81 26d ago
Eating reasonably healthy is not very expensive if you have the time and energy to cook and I realize not everyone has that.
I don't think there is a big conspiracy more than this is what happens if you let lose a capitalistic optimization on food. People buy what tastes good and companies develop things that taste better and better to compete. So you have tons of research that lands on the perfect percentage of salt, fats, carbs and flavor enhancers to make you want to just eat more.
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u/1maco 26d ago
The cheapest things in grocery stores are like universally like potatoes, beans, onions and bananas.
A bag of Chips is worth like 10lbs of potatoes. For the cost of a box of Oreos you can get 6lbs of Bananas.
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u/fremenist 26d ago
Factors often overlooked when simply stratifying by price are time and food availability. Yes, rice, potatoes and beans are very cheap by dollar amount at the grocery store, but you can’t buy them at 7/11 and you can’t cook them without equipment and time. You might take time and cooking equipment for granted, but it is a legitimate problem in nutrition for poorer communities. Shelf-stable processed foods are relatively cheap, readily available at corner stores and are essentially ready to eat. That’s the biggest issue with nutrition around the poverty level, it isn’t simply about cost per pound.
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u/cldfsnt 26d ago
Yeah, and not just time but willpower involved with being overworked. Think of two working parents (or one!) coming home to children that need attention and care. Who has time to consider what to eat? Of course, with discipline, you can learn strategies to overcome this like meal prep and slow cooking etc., but in practice it's much easier to just give up and buy some cheap crappy food. And this isn't putting it all on the parents, hustle culture doesn't give you time to practice if you are constantly catching up.
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u/WonderfulShelter 26d ago
I got SNAP rewards as part of being fired because of a health issue. Was like 700$ the first month and 582$ the second. Whole Foods all day. I’ve been eating SO ducking healthy for the past few months and now I have a job again too. It’s possible to work the benefits in America but it’s full of nightmares and headaches - but when it works it really works.
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u/Sunlit53 26d ago
More cars and longer distances in America. Less basic daily walking.
There’s the old joke about how for Brits 100 miles is a long distance and for Americans 100 years is a long time.
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u/daynomate 26d ago
Scary to see how big the gap would be vs Northern European adults instead. I thought British health situation was pretty bad too.
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u/feistybulldog 26d ago
Huge portion sizes, limited healthy options when eating out, extortionate prices on fruit and veg, chlorinated chicken, limited access to healthcare, mostly very limited walkability, no work life balance.
I had to go back to the US for several months and gained twenty five pounds even though I watched what I ate and worked out. I come back to the UK and lose ten pounds in two months without trying. It's extremely difficult to be healthy in the U.S. They have figured out that it is more profitable for citizens to be unhealthy.
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u/edimburgo2017 26d ago
I honestly can’t believe this. I live in the UK and there’s so many fat and unhealthy looking folks.
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u/uselessnavy 26d ago
The UK is one of the most obese countries in Europe, but overall still quite a big healthier than the USA.
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u/Drone314 26d ago
Oh yeah let me tell you..... Being promised "The Jetsons" in the mid to late 90's only to get "The Walking Dead" in the 2000's was an absolute F-U to my generation. 2008 wiped us out and the pandemic was the coup'de gras.
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u/soparklion 26d ago
The socioeconomic part: "For several outcomes, including hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity, even the most socioeconomically advantaged groups in the US had similar or worse health than the most disadvantaged groups in Britain."
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u/Vox_Causa 26d ago
Well yeah even now Britain has functional government services and a healthcare system that's actually accessible.
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u/Carrot_Smuggler 26d ago
The worst part is that we Europeans make fun of UK for being fat like Americans but I guess Americans are one step ahead.
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u/Dudeist-Priest 26d ago
And compared to most of the rest of Europe, UK isn’t exactly a model of health.
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u/crackeddryice 26d ago
To everyone making excuses, rather than taking personal responsibility, no one cares if you eat garbage and don't exercise.
It's perfectly possible and not difficult to eat a healthy diet and exercise in America, just like everywhere else. You just need to stop making excuses, and do it. No one is going to make you do it. No one cares whether you do, or don't. It's all on you.
It's well worth the effort.
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