The American diet is infamous for its inclination towards processed foods overloaded with sugar, salt, and fat. Contrasted with more health conscious diets in European countries such as France, the diet has major effects on people; high cholesterol, heart disease, and obesity are plaguing America like an epidemic, while European countries have significantly lower rates of all of such issues.
As of 2024, World Population Review ranks European countries such as Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, and Italy among some of the healthiest in the world. Meanwhile, America ranks 35th healthiest.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that “Nearly 1 in 3 adults (30.7%) are overweight” and “More than 2 in 5 adults (42.4%) have obesity.” The United States ranks 13th in worldwide obesity rates according to the WHO, while European countries rank much lower; Italy lands at 107, Sweden at 128, and France at 149. Undoubtedly, diet has a large impact on this.
North Penn High School’s very own students have felt these diet discrepancies weigh on themselves through the French exchange program. Judith Feliciano, a junior currently enrolled in the year-long exchange program in France, has already noticed the impact of the switch to a European diet has had on her physical appearance.
“I’ve noticed fat loss. My body and face have slimmed up despite eating the same,” Feliciano said.
However, the diet’s effects go further than looks; Reegan Burns, a North Penn High School senior who participated in the same French exchange program last year, notes that she felt noticeably more energized when in France. Burns attributes this change to the ingredients that made up the food she was eating, along with a balanced diet.
“The food in France was normally made with less coloring and also contained real sugar, rather than chemicals in the things such as candies and soda. I think that, mixed with eating a variety of foods that contained an assortment of veggies and fruits, helped me to stay more awake throughout the day and feel less tired and sluggish,” Burns said.
A concerning study by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that “60% of foods purchased by Americans contain technical food additives including coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives, and sweeteners,” showcasing that the effects felt by Feliciano and Burns felt weren’t because of nothing. Additives are frequently found to have negative effects on both physical and mental health, increasing risk for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, carcinogens, ADHD, and mental health disorders, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Inversely, Margot Tandonnet, a student from France currently attending North Penn High School in the exchange program, has taken notice of the effects America’s ways of eating have had on her in the three months she has been here so far. Tandonnet has seen opposite and more negative effects on her appearance since moving here.
“A lot of exchange students that come in the U.S. experience a gain of weight during the year because of the difference of diet. I know I gained some weight. It is absolutely normal, because our body is not used to this food. I also noticed some changes on my skin and my hair when I arrived; my hair was more greasy, so was my skin,” Tandonnet said.
Tandonnet was also able to note that takeout and fast food are much more prevalent in American culture as opposed to French, which adds to the levels of unhealthiness.
The National Library of Medicine agrees with this prevalence, stating that fast food “is one of the major components of Americans’ diet, as about 11% of their calories are derived from fast food consumption among adults (5).
“The fast food culture is much more present and popular here in America. I think that yes, America is less healthy than France, even though it is not as unhealthy as I thought it would be because of all the stereotypes,” Tandonnet said.
The stereotypes referred to are something that were of concern to Tandonnet before arriving in the U.S. The presence of fast food in America posed a worry for health, coming from a French perspective.
“It is true that there are a lot of stereotypes about unhealthy eating in America because of the fast food culture that is here. It was one of my fears by coming here, because of those thoughts and stereotypes,” Tandonnet added.
Interestingly, Feliciano still eats fast food, and notes she does so even more than she did here at home. It’s about more than the type of food being eaten, as she also credits the ingredients that make up the food to the change she’s experienced.
“I’ve been eating more fast food here than I would in the USA. I see lots of teenagers at fast food places. The food in France isn’t as flavorful or as sweet as in the USA. I think the cutting out of sugar added to the fat loss I’ve experienced. I’ve also had to add salt to my food in order for it to have some taste,” explained Feliciano.
Even further than eating out, the variations between food was apparent even in schools. Burns explained the difference in quality between school lunches in the U.S. and France; the lunches in France serve as a higher quality contrast to those here in America.
“The food was very different, although a lot more expensive. We would eat things like chicken legs, quiches, pastas, rice, various fruits and vegetables, and it always came with a dairy item, dessert, bread, and a side dish. For lunch here, I usually eat the school lunch, which I wouldn’t consider bad at all, but it isn’t nearly as nice as the lunch in France was,” Burns said.
In addition to a quality difference within school food, Feliciano also notes that in French grocery stores, the French measure the healthiness of their food through “nutri-scores,” adding to the awareness of health in the country. Chain stores, such as Carrefour, put pressure on their suppliers to implement nutrition information on their labels.
“There is a thing called “nutri-score” in France, which ranks how healthy the food item in a grocery store is. It ranges from A to E,” Feliciano said. The nutri-score is something that, in stores, makes it easier to understand exactly how healthy the food you’re consuming is.
The French national public health agency, Santé publique France, explains on their website that “The INCO regulation establishes rules regarding the provision of food information to consumers, allowing the final consumer to get access to basic information such as the nutritional declaration or the list of ingredients,” which called for the nutri-score system to be put into place.
On the flip side, besides organic stores and farmer’s markets, American grocery stores make it easy to reach for junk foods directly from the shelves, without much attention given to what the label reads. Knowing exactly what we’re eating is something that can help improve diet-related health.
Taking into account the differences faced between eating cultures, our diet is due for some changes. The addition of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and proteins into meals can provide some extra, much needed energy, and opting for foods without excess salts, sugars, and additives can improve one’s physical health. Being aware of what exactly we’re reaching for when we choose each meal is another great first step. Though many years ago our ancestors sailed across seas in search of a new land, something they might have been better off taking with them was the eating habits from European countries such as France.
Sources:
National institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases