Health in England
Blog #4
April 20, 2015
Valerie Sherwood
If you're looking for a healthier lifestyle within the UK, then England is the place to be. Research from the University of Oxford and the Department of Public Health found that if people from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland followed a diet more like England's up to 4,000 lives could be saved. This is due to the fact that England has lower cancer, heart attack, and diabetes rates because they consume less salt and more fruit and vegetables. The English have a diet viewed as something that the rest of the UK should strive to reach because it can be seen as a "realistic goal." They may be healthier, but they still have room to improve, hence why it is considered attainable. For example, over 65% of adults are overweight and 28% of children 2-15 years are overweight.
So why would a country that has a healthier diet have 1 in 4 citizens considered obese? People in England have been eating larger quantities of their food more than ever, and not exercising enough. Long ago food was a more expensive and most working class people in England lived off of potatoes and weak teas, which of course, caused a lot health problems for generations to come. Throughout the years food became more available, prices dropped from about 70% of someones income spent on food to 10%, and people developed more meat based, starchy, pre-made meals. Instead of traditional 3 meals a day with lots of vegetables and homemade cooking, people eat more frequently and have fast food diets with oversized portions. Bread and chocolate particularly have advanced from treats to regularly eaten throughout the day. The average diet in England has many healthy points, such as the amount of fish and plants consumed, but no culture can have the "perfect" diet, especially with the fast food industry growing and food quality decreasing.
-Hicks, Cherrill. "Why Is Britain Fatter than Ever?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
-Briggs, Helen. "English-style Diet 'could save 4,000' in Rest of UK." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web.
-Rattue, Grace. "Average Diet In England Would Save UK 4,000 Lives Annually." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
The people in the US are becoming more obese by the day. I find it interesting that the UK is one of the best places to live if you want to live a healthy lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteMy dad constantly travels to the UK for buisness. When he returns, he always tells me the people are really fit compared to the people in the US.
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