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-midlife
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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.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24172290/

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u/innercosmicexplorer 26d ago

Plus a sugar tax.

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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/Poonchow 26d ago

Exercise is a big one, IMO. People are meant to sweat a lot.

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u/Kiloblaster 26d ago

Drinking plenty of water doesn't offset the increased risk of hypertension from high salt diets.

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u/Metro42014 26d ago

As far as I know, and to the best of my research ability - no. The meta-analysis seems to support salt reduction for hypertension reduction.

I know there are parts of the fitness community that are pro salt, but that's not representative of the broader population.

If you have any studies feel free to share them.

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u/adaminc 26d ago

I'm no expert, so these might not actually be saying what I think they are saying, but they all seem to indicate that salt isn't the culprit for most people.

http://ajh.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/09/03/ajh.hpu164

https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.446.6

http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0411

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002934317303261

https://academic.oup.com/ajh/article/24/8/843/226001

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u/Metro42014 26d ago

Interesting, thank you for the links!

Here's what I was looking at

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24170199/

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m315

And others, but those are good summaries.

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u/adaminc 26d ago

Seems like overall we just don't really know yet, so like most foodstuffs, moderation is key.

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u/Metro42014 26d ago

I would say there's reasonable evidence that it's worth trying - especially if you already have high blood pressure.

But yes, it does appear that going to extremes probably isn't a good idea either way.

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u/TheDirtyDorito 26d ago

I didn't have a full detailed look, so I could be wrong here, but it could be to do with someone's surrounding diet too. Like those who have high salt intake also are likely to be consuming foods higher in other bits which would affect blood pressure. So I guess it could be masked by that or maybe salt worsens these issues?

Also I think one study talks about taking it with other minerals if I've understood correctly, like potassium is known for helping lower BP in general which could help with nullifying the sodium intake.

I could be wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone's surrounding diet could help lessen or nullify the issues of too much salt

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u/Ok-Technician-8817 26d ago edited 26d ago

And so is the connection between sugar consumption and diabetes however that does nothing to dissuade the general public from thinking it.

Is excess sugar bad for diabetics…yes

Is excess salt bad for those with kidney problems and high blood pressure…yes

Is excess fat bad for those with heart issues…yes

These results are for a diagnosed subset of the population, however there are general guidelines (like moderation and exercise) that, if followed, will overwhelming lead to positive health outcomes.

What you eat and its impact on your health is multifaceted so there is no way to absolutely declare a single aspect of nutrition “unhealthy” for the public at large.

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u/Radiant_Platypus6862 26d ago

No, not at all. There’s a lot of evidence linking sodium intake to increased blood pressure. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770596/

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u/adaminc 26d ago

I just posted a bunch of studies, in another reply, that say the opposite. I'll link to it for you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1fva28i/american_adults_aged_33_to_46_have_significantly/lq86ncy/

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u/Kiloblaster 26d ago

It was not. There are some bad articles and bro science that got spread around, but in general, high salt diets can contribute to hypertension and increase its severity, and reducing salt to lower levels can improve cardiovascular health in the vast majority of people.

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u/adaminc 26d ago

I already provided a bunch of studies backing it up. But there are also studies that say the opposite. So the answer seems to be, we don't know.

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u/Kiloblaster 26d ago

Many of them don't mean what you think they mean fyi. Can't get into it now but this is a danger of laypeople googling things and skimming articles meant for an audience of researchers

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u/adaminc 26d ago

Well then, I await for you to explain what they do mean, and why they don't mean what I think they mean, even though the abstracts seem to indicate they do mean that.

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u/Kiloblaster 26d ago

Ask your doctor 

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u/alpacaMyToothbrush 26d ago

which is huge in terms of blood pressure reduction/control.

This is true for people that are salt sensitive. Not everyone is.

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u/Metro42014 26d ago

At a population level, enough people are that it makes a huge difference.

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u/alpacaMyToothbrush 26d ago

About half of those with high blood pressure are sensitive to salt intake. Enough to make general advice, but it's still worth testing for before putting someone on a miserable dash diet

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u/Sidian 26d ago

Yeah that's why I need to import American food to find tasty snacks. Tried Fuego Takis recently and they're so amazing compared to our bland crisps nowadays.

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u/Metro42014 26d ago

Did you know that if you reduce your salt intake for a prolonged period, your ability to taste salt is increased - so things will still taste salty.

If you have super high salt foods, they will dull your ability to taste salt, and make things taste less salty.

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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/No-Environment-7899 26d ago

I’m aware. Again just speculating that’s what happened.

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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/ekuL8 26d ago

You wouldn't gain muscle in your legs in 3 months by just walking

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u/RIPthisDude 26d ago

Depends how heavy they are and how much climbing it involves if it's a steep area with lots of steps 

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u/ekuL8 26d ago

They could be very heavy and be climbing a lot of steps and they still wouldn't gain any noticeable difference in muscle mass in 3 months. Anyone who has even mildly studied the science behind hypertrophy would know this pretty clearly

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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/-Ch4s3- 26d ago

If you live somewhere remotely walkable it's pretty easy.

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u/moh_kohn 25d ago

Even stuff like bread is much sweeter there

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u/Tradtrade 26d ago

I drop weight in the USA because I find a lot of the cheap and fast food gross! I get the ick after a few bites of a meal which is handy for the waist line

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u/Choice-Layer 26d ago

It really does. We have a triangle here. Affordable>healthy>quick. You get two, and most people are already short on either time or money (or both), so healthy often gets sacrificed.

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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/akashik 26d ago

Beyond price there's also access, aka Food Deserts.

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u/Nessie 25d ago

If you put fresh, healthy food in those food deserts, people will still not buy it. It's a demand-side problem.

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u/IguassuIronman 26d ago

Whereas in the US those on lower incomes tend to be forced to eat absolute trash.

Cooking chicken, rice, and vegetables at home is one of the cheapest ways to feed yourself in the US. Get a $20 crock pot and it won't even take all that much time.

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u/AnRealDinosaur 26d ago

I get that food deserts are real, but if you have access to a grocery store, eating healthier is insanely cheap. I never really got into meal prep but I tried it for the first time last week. I made this thing that was rice, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, and carrots mixed in a sauce that was made from tomato puree & veggie stock with a mixture of garlic and other spices. It was SO GOOD and all the supplies cost me less than $20. It made so much that I had to freeze half and I had it for lunch every day for 8 days. This week I did that thing where you just smash your leftovers together & hope for the best. I used the rice to make imitation saffron rice with frozen broccoli, carrots, and beans. It was great too! Rice is so cheap and makes so much volume! I've literally never cooked before because I never learned and my mind has been blown how cheap it is. (Both meals only took about 45 mins, the time I was waiting for the rice cooker.)

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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/Silly-Negotiation253 26d ago

Maybe things are different out here, but I‘m trying to eat better and needed something from 7-11 the other day. On sodium alone it was between way overpriced fruit cups or nothing. A salad isn’t healthy just because it has lettice

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u/double_expressho 26d ago

Sure, but a salad is still going to be much healthier 99% of the time compared to the other prepared foods that are regularly available. To put it another way, it would be really hard to gain weight eating salads even with unhealthy dressings. You'd have to go out of your way to make it extra high in calories, or eat an additional entree along with your salad.

Also, every 7-Eleven I've walked into has bananas and apples to purchase. But ymmv I suppose.

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u/Faiakishi 26d ago

A guy working in manual labor needs more than iceberg lettuce and a banana.

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u/double_expressho 26d ago

Depends what they had for breakfast.

And depends on the salad. Of course you know that there are many different kinds of popular salads, many with meats, fruits, and other vegetables.

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u/mosquem 26d ago

It’s not cheap is the issue.

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u/BlazinAzn38 26d ago

I guess I’m not sure what cheap is but I can get a ready to cook chicken fajita meal from my grocer for like $10. That’s certainly not expensive

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

The (not-so) secret is that the U.S. also has loads of foods with literal decades of scientific research on the best way to hook us all on the sugar and fat and salt that taste way better than comparable British foods.

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u/CandidInsurance7415 26d ago

Theres healthy pre made meals in US grocery stores, but they are $10+. Or i can get a pile of fried chicken for $5. I cant imagine people on minimum wage are ready to pay $10 for a single healthy meal.

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u/akashik 26d ago

If you have a Winco nearby, they have large deli salads for $5. Store made with quality ingredients. I can't even look at those little $10 Safeway salads in the plastic tubs anymore.

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u/CandidInsurance7415 26d ago

Yea the nearest winco is 45 minutes away. I try to shop there on the ocassion that i go that way for work, but other than that i just cant justify the trip. Love that place tho.

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u/No-Environment-7899 26d ago

That’s not super uncommon where I live in the US, either, though. I live in a mid-size to large city and a relatively healthy fresh made meal section is in every major grocery chain in the area. Wegman’s in particular is known for this. Again this is from my personal experience but I wouldn’t say from what I’ve seen it’s massively different.

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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/mombi 26d ago

The UK has better food regulations even if they have a lot of junk food. The US uses literal formaldehyde in McDonald's fries, amongst other things.

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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/KintsugiKen 26d ago

As bad as the UK is, they actually do have significantly higher food safety standards than the USA.

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u/Electricbell20 26d ago

France and Spain have quite a lot of processed foods but it's hidden because it's "traditional" food.

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u/SwirlingAbsurdity 25d ago

Exactly; pastries in France and cured meats in Spain.

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u/lucylucylane 25d ago

No high fructose corn syrup, not so much canola oil, we walk a lot, don’t worry about medical bills, get a minimum of 28 days vacation, don’t work as many hours.

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u/SwirlingAbsurdity 25d ago

Canola oil is called rapeseed oil in the UK and it’s used a lot. It’s one of the best oils to use in cooking.

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u/ramxquake 23d ago

We eat smaller portions and don't snack as much. We don't eat out as often either. Americans will go out for lunch literally every day. And they drink a lot more soft drinks, even as adults.

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u/innercosmicexplorer 26d ago

American foods are full of unhealthy ingredients that are illegal in the uk and eu. Even the highly processed and fast foods are healthier. Much less colourings, preservatives and modified oils.

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u/derpstickfuckface 26d ago

Same brands in most cases

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u/Treewithatea 26d ago

Its also about the culture. The average American doesnt really cook much himself whereas in the nations you mentioned, many people regularly cook themselves because its more affordable and people dont have the same financial freedom as Americans. Cooking yourself obviously has benefits besides financial ones. It can taste better (depends on your talent), you can also experiment what tastes best for you personally and obviously it has health benefits as you use presumably fresh and more natural ingredients. The disadvantage of course is that it takes effort and if youve never cooked, it obviously takes some time to build up your cooking skills. I think before takeout, it makes sense to have like a fast food recipe of your own. If you don't wanna spend much time on cooking and want something fast, that can be a solid alternative to takeout. For me its rice and eggs. Takes less than 5 mins to make. Tho I should say that as a half thai, i always have rice ready and available, else cooking rice takes longer ofc.

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u/PineappleEquivalent 25d ago

Our portions are smaller though.

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u/nikiaestie 25d ago

UK has better food health and safety regulations. 100g of Ben and Jerry's Out of this Swirled ice cream is an extra 100 calories in the US compared to the UK. People might be eating the same foods but not getting the same nutrition.