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Americans are less healthy than British people but think they’re ‘fitter than they are’, study says
Though both nations have a range of health problems, Brits were found to be more pessimistic than their friends across the pond.
A fascinating insight into the psyche of British and American citizens has shed some light on the differing ways the two nations think about their health and fitness. In a bumper report that tackled socio-economic health inequalities and issues like smoking, obesity and high cholesterol, it was discovered that Brits appear to be more accepting of their ill-health than their American counterparts.
New study claims Brits are more realistic about poor health than Americans
New research published by University College London (UCL) has found that Americans are more likely to believe they are fit and healthy than British people are, despite the opposite being true.
Published October 3 in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the study analyzed 10,000 Brits born in 1970 and 5000 Americans born between 1976 and 1983.
Nurses took the subjects’ blood levels, cholesterol, body mass index and blood sugar levels – before surveying the patients about their outlook on their personal health and their daily habits.
The paper uncovered that the American subjects had higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol and were more likely to be obese than their British counterparts. Despite this, 18% of British adults reported their health as being “poor”, compared to just 12% of Americans – suggesting a notable difference in how the two nations define healthiness.
Discussing the research, lead author Dr Charis Bridger Staatz said: “Our new research shows that although British adults are more likely to believe that their health is poor, they tend to have better cardiovascular health than their US counterparts in midlife.
“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.”
Socio-economic inequalities are rife in the US
The paper also delved into more detail in a separate analysis, which looked at how socio-economic backgrounds determined health in each nation.
It was reported that in both countries, adults who came from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to have better health prospects and habits.
Moreover, concerning the majority of prevalent health conditions, inequalities between poorer and wealthier individuals were greater in the US than in the UK.
While these findings paint a marginally more positive picture of health in the UK, the nation’s adults are more likely to smoke every day – with 28% of British adults admitting to the habit, compared to 21% of Americans.
Another senior author, UCL Professor George Ploubidis, said of Britain: “In some ways, these findings could be seen to paint a positive picture for the nation, as the health of adults in Britain is better than that in the USA.
“Nevertheless, this research should not distract us from the fact that more than a third of British adults are obese, and a fifth have high blood pressure in midlife.”
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