Introduction

As Europeans, we love pointing fingers at Americans.

We cast judgmental glances at tourists refusing to walk long distances, we mock their portion sizes, and we take pride in our superior food culture. As Europeans, we conclude, “we simply eat better.”

But what if the actual data says a more humbling story?

Yes, Americans struggle with health—the statistics are grim: 70% of Americans are overweight, 40% cross into clinical obesity, chronic disease afflicts 6 out of every 10 citizen, and a simple broken leg can lead to financial ruin.

But lately, something's shifted across the Atlantic.

With RFK Jr. now leading the Department of Health, mainstream channels broadcast messages about "Making America Healthy Again." Even Fox News segments now discuss how "seed oils and food dyes poison our bodies"—topics once strictly confined to alternative health circles.

But what about Europe?

Does our reputation for better health hold up under scrutiny?

Has our rich culinary tradition and strict regulatory system truly protected us from similar health declines?

I write this as a concerned European who has spent years looking at the data, and sees troubling patterns in our health.

While Americans openly discuss their health crisis, our mainstream conversation remains strangely silent about our own. We trust that EU regulations guarantee safety, but this confidence might prevent us from asking crucial questions about our changing food supply and rising chronic disease rates.

This analysis is not about pointing fingers or diminishing European achievements. It's about asking uncomfortable questions:

Has our cultural pride blinded us to the transformation of our food supply?

Are we following America's health trajectory with a mere decade or two of delay?

Can we learn from both our own history and America's mistakes?

Two important notes before we begin:

• First, while I may occasionally insert personal observations, this analysis primarily draws from epidemiological data, clinical research, and historical records.
• Second, I often present aggregated European data, though I recognize the continent's tremendous diversity. Where possible, I distinguish between regions, but the broader patterns transcend national boundaries.

Let's explore a question that deserves more attention: Are Europeans truly as healthy as we believe?

The Good

To be fair, the European health superiority narrative rests on foundations that seem solid at first glance:

Our portion sizes are more reasonable, our cities more walkable, and our healthcare systems more accessible. Most notably of all, the EU has implemented regulations that do protect citizens from certain harmful substances.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has banned over 1,300 chemicals found in U.S. cosmetic and food products. We've prohibited growth hormones in meat since 1981. We've restricted hundreds of food additives that Americans consume daily.

In 2008, the EU passed REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals), arguably the world's strictest chemical safety law. Meanwhile, the U.S. still permits the use of red dye #40, yellow #5, and dozens of other colorants linked to behavioral and health problems in children.

As a result, when Americans visit Europe, they often report feeling better after just weeks of eating our food. "I can eat bread here without bloating," they marvel. "My skin cleared up," they observe.

These testimonials feed a collective fantasy that Europe has somehow preserved its culinary sanctity while the US succumbs to nutritional degradation. But this exceptionalism isn't merely misguided—it's a dangerous delusion that obscures a far more complex reality.

The Bad

PART I: The Data

Unfortunately, the comfortable mythology of European superiority is crumbling under the weight of uncomfortable statistics.

- Overweight Population Trends: Europe vs. United States (1975-2022)

Both Europe and the US have experienced dramatic increases in overweight rates, with Europe's 2022 overweight rate (62.3%) nearly reaching America's 2000 rate (64.5%):

- Obesity Trends: Europe vs. United States (1975-2022)

Europe's obesity rate has increased by 283% since 1975 (from 6.5% to 24.9%). While Europe still maintains a significant gap with the US (which has risen from 15% to 41.9%, a 179% increase), Europe is experiencing an even faster rate of relative increase in clinical obesity than the US!

- Male Infertility Prevalence: Europe vs. Unites States (1970-2022)

Male sperm counts have plummeted by more than 50% since comprehensive measurements began in the 1970s. This decline shows remarkably similar patterns between Europe and North America.

- Type 2 Diabetes Prevalence: Europe vs. United States (1980-2022)

Since 1980, European diabetes rates increased by 157% while US rates increased by 203%. Europe's current diabetes prevalence (9.5%) is roughly where the US was around 2008-2010 (10.1%). This continuing pattern suggests Europe is following the same diabetic trajectory as the US with approximately a 10-15 year lag.

- Cancer Prevalence: Europe vs. United States (1940-2022)

Since 1940, age-standardized cancer rates have nearly quadrupled, with Europe now seeing 590 cases per 100,000 people and the US slightly higher at 620. What's particularly striking is that these numbers are age-adjusted, meaning they account for our aging population. While improved detection explains some of this increase, it doesn't account for the full surge, especially in certain cancers that were rare before the 1940s. The parallel trajectories between Europe and the US suggest we're dealing with shared environmental and behavioral triggers rather than genetic or regional factors.

- Neurodegenerative Disease Prevalence: Europe vs. United States

The rise in neurodegenerative diseases—conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS that progressively damage brain cells—has been nothing short of catastrophic. Since the 1940s, both Europe and the US have seen a roughly tenfold increase in these conditions, with current rates hovering around 520 cases per 100,000 in Europe and 580 in the US.

- Chronic Disease Prevalence: Europe vs. United States (1990-2022)

Despite differences in healthcare systems, food regulations, and cultural approaches to eating, both regions are experiencing remarkably similar trajectories in chronic disease prevalence. Europe may be maintaining a position "better" than the US, but it's following the same path with chronic disease becoming the norm rather than the exception for adults, with 5 out of 10 Europeans struggling with at least one chronic disease (compared to 6 out of 10 in the United States.

The data is astounding, yet the collective European response has been a resounding shrug, peppered with continued smug jabs at American food culture.

"At least we're not as bad as the Americans," we tell ourselves.

“We know what to do—we're just too lazy to actually do it,” we insist.

Or the most common refrain: “We just need to follow the health guidelines more carefully.”

These explanations sound reasonable enough, so let's examine what the most authoritative health organizations actually classify as chronic disease, the major risk factors, and how Europeans have interpreted—or misinterpreted—these sacred guidelines.

What we'll discover might surprise you.

PART II: The Suspects

According to the World Health Organization: “Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors. The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.”

In Europe, these aren’t just threats—they’re the reapers. Seven of the continent’s top ten causes of death fall under this banner, claiming 85-90% (!) of all lives lost:

1. Cardiovascular diseases - Primarily chronic
2. Cancers - Primarily chronic
3. Respiratory diseases - Primarily chronic
4. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease - Primarily chronic
5. Diabetes and metabolic disorders - Primarily chronic
6. Liver diseases - Primarily chronic
7. Kidney diseases - Primarily chronic
8. External causes/accidents - Acute
9. Infectious diseases - Acute, often related to chronic
10. Suicide and self-harm - Acute, often related to chronic

So, here's the burning question: What are we doing so fatally wrong?

The WHO and CDC are in full accord, pointing to the exact same risk factors:

WHO

"Behavioural risk factors increase the risk of NCDS, including:

• tobacco use (including the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke);
• unhealthy diets, including excess salt, sugar, and fats;
• harmful use of alcohol; and
• insufficient physical activity."

CDC

"Many preventable chronic diseases are caused by a short list of risk behaviors:

• smoking
• poor nutrition
• physical inactivity
• excessive alcohol use."

Let's look at how Europeans measure up against each of these factors. If chronic diseases are surging, surely we must be failing spectacularly at all four, right?

1. Tobacco Smoking Prevalence in Europe (1950-2020)

Since 1990, smoking rates across Europe have plunged by nearly 30% - from 36% to 25% of adults. Even Eastern European countries, traditionally Europe's heaviest smokers, are seeing record drops thanks to aggressive campaigns and taxes.

2. Alcohol Usage Prevalence in Europe (1970-2020)

Alcohol? The trend is equally clear. Consumption has steadily declined across Europe for decades.

3. Physical Activity in Europe (2000-2020)

Physical activity has remained relatively stable across Europe, with about one-third of Europeans meeting the WHO's recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.

[SIDE NOTE]

Before moving on: Yes, our sedentary behavior has exploded, especially post-pandemic. Yes, sitting for hours might be worse than skipping the gym. And yes, this deserves serious attention. But that's a separate investigation—one that would take us down a different rabbit hole entirely. For now, let's stay focused on our main paradox...

4. Poor Diet in Europe (1960-2020)

According to WHO: “Specific recommendations for a healthy diet include: eating more fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains; cutting down on salt, sugar and [saturated] fats. It is also advisable to choose unsaturated fats, instead of saturated fats.”

With obesity surging 283% and diabetes jumping 157% since 1975, surely Europeans must be gorging on salt, sugar, and saturated fat, right? Well, the data tells a surprising story…

PART III: The Paradox

To recap:

• Europeans are smoking 42% less compared to 20 years ago
• Europeans are drinking 23% less alcohol compared to 20 years ago
• Europeans have relatively stable levels of physical activity compared to 20 years ago
• Europeans are eating 11% less sugar, 27% less saturated fat, and 34% less salt compared to 20 years ago

And yet chronic disease has increased by 57% compared to 20 years ago, with conditions like type 2 diabetes seeing a 83% increase!

For decades, health authorities have wagged their fingers at the same familiar villains: the food our ancestors ate to thrive for millenia, including saturated fat and salt. They've shaped policies, guidelines, and public perception with unwavering confidence. We've followed their advice. We've changed our habits. We've done everything they asked.

But if we're smoking less, exercising about the same, and drinking less alcohol - all objectively positive things - but we're still getting fatter and sicker, then doesn't that mean our definition of healthy eating is fundamentally flawed?

Perhaps something else is poisoning us—and it's hiding in plain sight.

Outro

I come from a European country famous for its food and long life expectancy.

We consistently rank in the world's top 5 for cuisine. We have Blue Zones where people live past 100. Our traditional diet is studied and copied globally. On paper, we should be the picture of health.

But reality tells a different story.

Here I am, watching friends bloat and wheeze, hospitals groaning under the weight of chronic illness, and our kids facing a future where 80 might be ambitious. Something isn't adding up.

After compiling the data I’ve just presented to you, I've reached three troubling conclusions:

1. We're not the picture of health we imagine ourselves to be. We're following America's chronic disease trajectory with an eerily consistent 10-15 year delay. While we may pride ourselves on being "healthier than Americans," this is becoming an increasingly hollow victory—like bragging about being the second person to walk off a cliff.
2. Our ignorance has led to complacency. While Americans are now having raw, public discussions about their deteriorating health, switching back to traditional, saturated fats, and questioning long-held nutritional dogmas, we Europeans remain oddly silent about our own decline. Our belief in regulatory protection and cultural superiority has become a comfortable blindfold, preventing us from seeing—and addressing—the transformation happening on our own plates.
3. We are not “undisciplined” or “lazy”; we’ve followed every official health guideline by the book. Smoking rates are down. Alcohol consumption is down. People exercise regularly. We've dramatically cut back on sugar, salt, and saturated fat. Yet instead of getting healthier, our chronic disease rates are soaring. This paradox demands explanation.

In Part 2 of this analysis, we'll dive deep into what's actually changed in our food supply over the past 50 to 100 years…

We'll examine the hidden ingredients that have quietly slipped onto our plates, the processing methods that have transformed our traditional foods, and the scientific evidence that suggests we may have been fighting the wrong dietary enemies all along.

Because one thing is becoming clear: While we've been pointing fingers across the Atlantic, and following anti-saturated fat and anti-salt health guidelines, something has been silently poisoning us right under our noses.

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