Scientists Warn That the British Are in Danger of Becoming as Unhealthy as Americans

Britons and Americans share the same language, practice overlapping religions, and follow similar legal doctrines – commonalities formed over hundreds of years of intertwined history. But our peoples have also diverged in a few key respects during that time. One of them is health.

In a recently published study, researchers in the U.S. and the U.K. compared the health of British and American adults aged 33 to 46. Americans lagged far behind their peers across the pond.

A slightly greater proportion of American middle-aged and young adults were obese (40.4% vs. 34.5%) and had diabetes (8.14% vs 7.27%) compared to their British counterparts. Americans left their British cohorts in dust on hypertension and high cholesterol, however. The proportion of Americans with these concerning conditions was roughly 50% higher.

Despite the Yanks’ poor showing in the analysis, in typical American fashion, nearly nine in ten rated their health as “good” or “excellent”. Eight in ten Brits were similarly confident.

Scientists at University College London (UCL) and Oxford in the U.K. and Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina in the U.S. spearheaded the work, using data from two decades-long studies tracking the health of Britons and Americans. Roughly 10,000 Britons and 5,000 Americans were included in the analysis.

The depth of Americans’ poor health was apparent when the authors factored in socioeconomic data. People with identical levels of education and wealth are often similarly healthy, despite cultural differences.

Not so, here.

“For several outcomes, including hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity, even the most socioeconomically advantaged groups in the U.S. had similar or worse health than the most disadvantaged groups in Britain,” the researchers wrote.

What’s more, Britons trounced Americans in measures of health despite smoking cigarettes in far greater numbers. 

So what could explain the disparities found between the two sibling cultures?

In a statement, lead author Dr. Charis Bridger Staatz from UCL’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies said, “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.”

Adults in England are more physically active than adults in America, as evidenced by accelerometer data. Differences in diet are difficult to quantify, but Americans spend a far greater proportion of their food and drink expenditures dining out than do the British. Eating out tends to be unhealthier than cooking at home. Moreover, menu items at large chain restaurants in the U.S. tend to have more calories, fat, and sugar than comparable chain restaurants in the U.K.

The authors of the report further suggest that differences in healthcare and inequality may drive Americans’ poor relative health. The U.K.’s National Health Service is universally available and free at the point of access, while American healthcare is widely privatized with high upfront costs that discourage use. In terms of wealth inequality, the top 10% of American households hold 67% of wealth, while the top 10% of U.K. households hold 57 percent. Welfare programs in the U.K. are also far more generous than they are in the U.S.

“Societies with higher levels of inequality typically have worse health across a range of metrics,” the researchers wrote. “The unique combination of high inequality and a weak welfare state in the USA may prove harmful for all groups throughout the life course.”

Staatz stated that the findings should serve as a warning for Britons.

“Given political and social similarities between the U.S. and Britain, the U.S. acts as a warning of what the state of health could be like in Britain without the safety net of the NHS and a strong welfare system.”