Which Country Has the Most Unhealthy Middle-Aged People? It’s Not the US…
- Posted on September 6, 2011 at 7:12pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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Unfortunately it seems that conventional wisdom often produces the statement that America is home to the most unhealthy people in the world. However, a new study finds that middle-aged Brits are fatter, more depressed, and smoke more cigarettes than any other middle-aged men and women in the world. AOL Lifestyle on what researchers from BUPA found when asking more than 13,000 people from 12 countries around the world about their lifestyles:
“Although Americans are often thought to be the world’s fattest, it turned out that British people aged 45-54 were the most overweight.
Over one third of people in this age group in Britain are overweight, twice the international average for all the countries in the study.
Only 8% described themselves as ‘healthy’ and 24% smoked 10 or more cigarettes a day, compared to the average of 18%.
Over a quarter of Brits in this age group said they were depressed, in comparison to an international average of 17%.
While 73% of Mexicans and 64% of Brazilians described themselves as ‘positive’, only 48% of Britons said they felt positive.”
The demographic of British described as “very healthy” improves in the 55-64-year-old braket, but still only makes up 11 percent of that age group.
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flatbroke
Posted on September 8, 2011 at 4:27pmWhile there is so much being made of healthy people, they all forget that it is a rarity that one makes it to 45-65-75 years old, and does not a have at least one medical condition, and that is the way it has been forever, because humans were never really supposed to live past 60-65 or 70 years old, so if you make it to 60-65 and have only 1 health problem, you very lucky, and that is in any country, i dont care if you eat fruits/veggies, and yogurt all day, and exercise all your life, age will catch up to you.
Report Post »JackSprat
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 2:50pmIt seems odd that the ‘nanny state’ of the UK would have the most unhealthy. The real problem is that the majority of these unhealthy people have given up hope(socialized medicine) and do not feel as if anything they do will make a difference. Of course everyone is entitled to health care, the problem is that it is marginal health care at its best. To get the best health care in the UK it probably helps being some sort of a celebrity or part of the bureaucracy. If you are not, I assume that they may be schlocks and not worth the effort!!
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 1:44pmI don’t know how you could eat enough English food to get fat. It’a awful. They must be eating immigrant food.
Report Post »Charlie Justice
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:45amBreakfast : Fried bread, baked beans & eggs
Lunch : Steak & Kidney pudding
Dinner : Mutton & mushrooms
How can this delicious menu not be healthy? mmmm, pass the mutton!
Report Post »brian8793
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 10:56amThey should eat 6 meals instead of 3. Make the meals high protein and high fiber. Drink plenty 0f water, and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
That’s all you need to be ripped like me ; )
Report Post »Duddio
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 11:46amThat menu probably adds to the depression as well….. There is a reason why there almost no British food restaurants popping up around the world. Their food SUCKS!
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on September 8, 2011 at 5:21pmEat whole foods not boxed foods/processed foods for 6 months and drop 30-40 lbs…and that is without exercising…when you hit your low point begin exercising and continue to lose weight and looked ripped at any age. ;)
Report Post »DanWesson455
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:22amI’m no model nor profess to want to be one. I see the Queen over there and say whoa! She has had 2d’s a bunch of times. Her old man, Phillip, he looks OK for his age. I guess there isn’t much to do on an Island surrounded by cold water except to watch Benny Hill re-runs.
Report Post »FEMALL
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 7:58amBut they live in a socialist utopia! Oh, wait….Old Commie Russia had the highest number of alcoholics per capita in the world.
O=Vodka screwdrivers
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 3:18amIt’s all a bunch of garbage anyway. All the health craze scare tactics are just global warming 2.0. There is of course reasonable and common sense health advice, but anything beyond that and it’s just somebody trying to sell you something.
The “epidemic” of obesity in the United States started when they started revising the body mass index charts downward. So somebody that was right at the upper limit for their height previously was now obese, and somebody that was just slightly overweight on the old chart was now categorized as morbidly obese. They’ve revised the chart several times over the past couple of decades always making the limit for obesity lower and lower.
It‘s no different than when they implement a new law making something a crime that previously wasn’t. Morons look at the number of those incidents reported after the law takes effect and scream from the hilltops that whatever it happens to be is exploding and the world is going to end if we don’t do something. It‘s too hard for them to realize that there is an explosion of reported incidents simply because it wasn’t a crime before so nobody reported it.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 6:48amHow is this possible – the Brits have all those fabulous programs and intrusive government regs to make sure they have such great “free” healthcare…and the dental care they receive is second to none…(sarcasm)
Just like how is it possible for there to be crminials with guns in NYC with all the laws to prevent them…
Report Post »ITEOTWAWKI
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 2:06amDon’t tell the brits!!! It’ll make em depressed. Oh wait…. too late. My in-laws are brits and they’re always telling me that the english are healthier because they walk more than Americans do. Hmmm…. Do I share this? ;-)
Report Post »Eyeball
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 12:46amWhen you say unhealthy, are you including only the teeth? England leads the world in that category. Sorry England.
Report Post »heretic
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 1:46amThats because we have national health service (NHS) dental cover. When OC kicks in you will have the same teeth :-D
Report Post »Ohello
Posted on September 6, 2011 at 11:40pm‘ello, ‘ello, ‘ello……..Bring back their right to bear arms, that should cheer ‘em up, and if they practice good defensive technique, you know…. looking for cover, running away if possible, then some of their health problems could be reduced.
It’s just the little things that count.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on September 6, 2011 at 11:30pmGive your Empire away and then your country and anyone would be depressed.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 7, 2011 at 12:08amTrue enough. Great Britain is so much further down the road to ruin and the middle-aged can remember the days before “Londonistan”
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