Americans say they lose weight in Europe – and I think I know why
Arwa Mahdawi
Is it because of differences in the flour that’s being consumed? Or something to do with the European approach to getting around?
It’s not just the mass shootings you have to watch out for in the US, it’s also the lettuce – a dodgy bit of iceberg could leave you sick with cyclosporiasis. And then there are the frozen blueberries, recently recalled because of a “reasonable probability” they could “cause serious adverse health consequences or even death”. And the alfalfa sprouts that may harbour salmonella. And the fruit bars that may be contaminated with glass. I could go on: there’s been a surge in foodborne illnesses in the US this year and food recalls have been getting a lot of attention.
Europe obviously isn’t immune to foodborne illnesses either. More than 200 people have become sick in the UK this summer and one person has died because of a salmonella outbreak tied to imported eggs. Still, Europe is widely seen as having far more robust regulations and food policies than the US. There’s endless anecdata online from Americans who claim that American bread and pasta makes them feel bloated and sick, but they can eat whatever they want in Europe and feel great
Podcaster Joe Rogan, for example, has said pasta and bread “wreck” him in the US, but not in Italy. He cited US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s theory that heavily processed (“enriched flour”) in the US could be to blame. Social media is full of people with similar claims. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published a piece called My Secret Diet is a Trip to Europe, showcasing Americans who dropped weight while eating their way across the continent
I’m about as qualified to weigh in on this matter as RFK Jr, so here’s my personal hypothesis: for most of these Americans, I think it’s less about the food, and more about the fact that they are walking a lot more on their holidays than they do at home. People in the US look at me like I must be either indigent or deeply eccentric when I tell them I don’t have a car. Beyond a few cities, you can’t actually walk anywhere in the US because there are no pavements and the infrastructure is hostile to pedestrians. In the 1920s, the auto industry even lobbied for “jaywalking” laws to criminalise crossing the road and cast pedestrians as ridiculous simpletons. I’m no scientist, but I reckon my theory has legs.
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