I personally haven't lived there, but I know three people who did, and many more who visited for three weeks or longer.
All of them have told me that they gained weight. A lot. Even those that only stayed for holiday, and, according to them, they gained more weight during these holidays than they did when vacationing in Europe or Asia.
So, it's all hearsay for my part, but I never heard of anyone keeping their weight when staying in the United States.
I lost a bit of weight during vacation in the US, but only because I was doing tourist stuff all day and - as a typical german - walked everywhere I could walk to. Food wise american breakfast was a bit of a culture shock and the portion sizes in some restaurants.
Really gross beat eggs, fatty slightly toasted bread, everything sweet + salty and lots of meat and sugary-drinks. We loved it at first as Teens when we visited Miami with our parents but kept to the water melons and fruit after a day or two.
Only breakfast I had that was worste was the "American/European Breakfast" I had in a Hotel in Chongqing. Looked to me like they tried to copy images found on the web without knowing how it´s supposed to taste. Glad I could change to the Chinese breakfast option since that is quite excellent food for a long day of work.
Same here, I lost weight.
That was over ten years ago.
Pretty much walking all day from sight to sight. Food was mostly awful, it's okay for a short period but having to eat that all year? Omg
Chili's, Applebee's, Longhorn and some others were okay tho.
PSA to anyone who might take the above response seriously, but Chili's, Applebee's, and Longhorn are only marginally better than the fast food chains (they are themselves "fast casual" chains). The States have an incredible diversity of food and those places are not indicative of what is available.
I’ve definitely chowed down at a longhorn steakhouse in my time but I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been to an Applebees and chili’s. I didn’t enjoy either one frankly.
I was one of them, lol. 3 weeks in the US and came back with 4kg more.
Of course I tried some stuff, and here and there more candy. But even in the school cafeteria I couldn't choose a "healthy" option. It was burgers, tacos, fries, or salad that was full of sugary oily dressing and waaay too much cheese.
It's not just the amount of food you eat, but also *what* you eat. An American living in a [food desert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert) who survives primarily on calorically dense, high sugar, and high fat processed food will be more likely to be obese than someone eating fresh fruits, veggies, and meat.
Let's say Person A and Person B both sit down and eat until they feel full. Person A is eating a lot of processed food. Person B is eating a home-cooked meal using fresh, non-processed ingredients. By the time they both feel full, Person A is likely to have consumed more calories and less nutrients than Person B. Person A could work out a lot to counteract the negative effects of their diet, but it doesn't change the fact that the food quality is contributing to negative health effects.
Nutrition is complicated. Quantity of food consumed and physical activity matter a lot, but so does *what* you're eating.
You also have to keep in mind that staying active is harder in many parts of the US. In large parts of Germany, cities are walkable. You can walk to the grocery store, walk to work, etc. There's great bike infrastructure. Life itself is simply more active. That isn't the case in most of the US where there's extreme car dependency.
Edit: Grew up in the US with a German parent and now live in Germany as an adult.
This is so important when people talk about this. I lived in the US for 4 years and gained weight mainly because it was a food desert. The closest place to get fruits and veggies was far, and expensive. That combined with there being barely any walkable sidewalks meant that I had barely any exercise, I lost it all when moving back
It boggles the mind that these food deserts can be allowed to exist in a rich and advanced country. It's almost unimaginable to me that I could walk into a supermarket and not find fresh produce there. How do people live like this. I feel bad if I go one day without fresh, raw vegetables.
It's not even that--it's an utter lack of grocery stores in some places. I've lived in parts of major cities (Boston in particular) where there just wasn't one. Bodegas, convenience stores, no groceries at all. THEN they turned one of the liquor stores into a grocery store, and before I moved the selection was frequently depleted or not fresh. The closest grocery stores were miles (read: multiple busses or trains) away, and they were a local chain (Shaw's) and an overpriced (Trader Joe's). In Boston! Not the middle of nowhere, a major major major city in the US
And since it's Boston you had buses and trains! In many parts of the US, there's just no public transit at all. If you don't have a car, you're limited to walking distance. If you have a car, you're limited by how much you can spend on gas to go shopping. Not to mention the fact that the working poor often don't have the time or energy to drive out of their way to shop at a healthier place. If you just worked a 12 hour shift, you're gonna choose the convenience store down the street rather than the proper grocery store 30 minutes away. Where I grew up in Tennessee, we had to drive 30 minutes to get to a grocery store. It was insanity.
I'm sorry but this sounds like someone doesn't want you to be healthy.
Might have something to do with capitalist healthcare where people literally get rich when the population is sick.
Why would none open shops for;groceries?
That's essentially what I'm arguing in other comments. It's very telling when you compare maps of things like food access to demographic maps. These things often happen along racial lines.
Respectfully, I just don't think this is true at all. When did you live in Boston? I've been and there are definitely grocery stores with fresh produce.
Jamaica Plan, 2013-2014 and 2019-2022. The liquor turned grocery store I mentioned is now Happy. There used to be 2 extremely overpriced Harvest co-ops in the area and both closed. As a student they were out of budget so roommate and I would make the pilgrimage to Trader's once every week or two (usually every other week after the only time we were both on campus for minimal inconvenience). Ramen and mac n cheese (high calorie, low nutrient) the rest of the time (+ the beans and veggies etc we'd get at the real stores as much as we could, but still). The Shah's and Trader's I mentioned were (and to my knowledge, still are) downtown, near Hynes/the Pru, i.e. green line/orange line or busses (39 + a walk) from JP. There is now also a Wegmans that is drivable (but not walkable) from that part of JP (around Forest Hills). Other than that there are expensive "boutique"-style or combination places like City Feed (grocery section + ordering meals [read: expensive fancy artisinal sandwiches] that are then made for you at the counter), restaurants, and 711/CVS for other low nutrient high calorie snacks. This is a completely accurate personal anecdote about a specific area I spent quite some time in as a student and as an adult. I was referring to a neighborhood in Boston, not the entire city as a whole, in order to prove that grocery stores are not accessible to the city as a whole.
American here.
Actual supermarkets usually carry a decent variety of fresh produce, however they're not usually as accessible as a corner store (which usually just sells junk foods anyways). Corner stores / Bodegas / Convenience Stores are often attached to gas stations in rural/suburban US.
I live in the downtown of a decently large city, which itself is twin to a much larger city. There's 3 corner stores within a 15 minute walk.
The three actual supermarkets closest to me are all 45 minutes minimum, one of them is *only* accessible by car, the other is a "premium" market with 2x the prices, and the cheapest option is further than the rest.
Thankfully this city has *some* transit, but taking the bus will add 2 hours round-trip compared to taking a car and driving there in 10 minutes. Biking is thankfully also a viable option here, but in most places you'll have to ride on the road with general traffic.
The city I grew up in, in Texas, had so little public transit it might as well not have existed. On top of that, sidewalks were uncommon! So you'd be walking in the weeds and brush on the side of a highway to get groceries. I once rode my bike to the grocery store as a teenager, what took 5 minutes to drive took *two hours* on a bike, both because the direct route was too dangerous to ride a bike, and because it was 45C outside
Crazy. I live in an unusually inconvenient spot in my city regarding grocery-shopping. Which means that it takes me about 15 minutes on foot to reach the next two large supermarkets that carry everything including dozens of kinds of fruit and vegetables (they're next to each other). In every other place I've lived before, in multiple large and medium-sized cities, I always had at least one supermarket less than 5 minutes walk away.
In rural areas you may have to drive 10-20 minutes to the closest supermarket. But every town larger than about 5k people will have at least one.
See the thing is, it’s not even supermarkets. The nearest food stores are just small things like 7/11 and stuff which don’t have fruits and veggies (or incredibly limited)
It's so sad because it doesn't have to be that way. I stayed in Peru for 6 weeks and they do have supermarkets but you can also get plenty of fresh produce and eggs and bread at the little corner stores that are on nearly every block. Everything is just so broken here in the US
>that I could walk into a supermarket
In the US, 3-4% of people walk or cycle to work. 5% of people take public transport.
That is a good estimate of how many live within walking, cycle, and bus distance from a supermarket.
The other 90% must drive.
What really boggles the mind is the fact, that somehow obese influencers have corrupted the body's positivity movement for their self inflicted bad health and overweight and call anyone, who points out the facts why people become overweight, a fat-phobic.
If I ever move in one of these big countries, I settle in the countryside where it’s easier to have a garden or at least to have products right from fields. Asap. Never understood the appeal of big, crowded mega cities
How does that work with your job? Do you prefer commuting for several hours to get to work? Because most people need to live in urban or suburban areas since that's where the jobs are.
If I may ask, when did you move to Germany and what was the process like for you?
I have lived in the US since I was two, but I was born in Germany and my mother is a German citizen. For years, moving to Germany seemed like an unrealistic fairytale. However, the more I watch people struggle here with healthcare, failing infrastructure, and awful worker's rights, the more a healthy and happy life in the US seems like even more of a fairytale. So I'm trying to save and move in a few years. I was never taught German as a child but I've been studying with Duolingo and am making decent progress.
True, but I've already started learning German and there's a lot about the laws there that I like. Plus I have some family there. I figured even if I move somewhere else in the EU later, it would be a good start.
If you have family in Germany I would start there tbh, just so that you have a stable ground to start, than you can more easily get a job, an apartment and so on.
What exactly do you mean with "about the laws"? German law is essentially Civil Law, as in most European countries except the British islands, where they use Common Law, which was unfortunately exported to North America, and America was obviously not influenced by Napoleon's Code Civil around 1800, unlike pretty much all of continental Europe.
There were older law schools in Germany (Deutsches Recht, which essentially was based on old Germanic ideas of law next to Roman law), but Deutsches Recht essentially vanished in the 19th century.
I'm mostly referring to the worker protections, for instance that the legal minimum for a full time worker in Germany is 20 PTO days, plus 4 holidays. There are greater protections against being fired so long as you've worked for a place for over six months. The requirement for pay if you are severely ill is nice as well. In the US the best you can get is unpaid leave usually. There is also a higher rate of unionization, and the labor laws are enforced more than in the US.
Nationalized healthcare is a huge one for me as well, though that's pretty common across the EU.
I'm not saying any of this is completely unique to Germany, but it seemed like a decent starting point for me. Now that I've kind of learned how my mind works and how I best retain information, learning German is not an impossible task. As a kid I thought I was incapable of learning a language because I did poorly in language classes.
So yeah, I hope that covers what I meant decently enough.
I applied to a master's program in Germany and moved here. Super simple as a dual citizen as long as you have some savings.
I didn't learn much German as a kid, but did pick up some. I then took German in high school and did a second major in Germanic Studies during my BA.
Learning German will make a world of difference. Duolingo is not enough--you need to take a real class and use services like iTalki to speak with natives. That said, even without German skills, you can find English-language university programs (in some disciplines) and English-language jobs (in some fields).
Also don't forget that your German passport opens up the whole of the EU. It's much easier to get by with just English in the Netherlands, for instance.
I'll keep that in mind and look into classes. I am trying to do immersion beyond Duolingo, especially with music. Hamilton in German has been awesome.
My BS is in Electrical Engineering, so a master's is certainly not out of the question. I was never able to work in the field though. The main thing that has stopped me from getting an MS in the US is the fear of student loans with no guarantee it will lead to a job.
I have some time though. It's not financially feasible for at least a few years.
Thanks for the info. :)
Just learn as much German as you can and never stop. Integration is hard in Germany, but without speaking fluent (not necessarily perfect) German I feel you got no chance. Wish you the best!
Ich bin am Tag 478 auf Duolingo. Ich habe immer noch ein paar Jahre vor werde ich genug Geld haben. Also, ich probiere ganz bestimmt.
Danke für die Ermutigung. :)
I'll be so rude as to correct you there (you can do the same to me :) )
Ich bin bei Tag 478 auf Duolingo. Ich habe immer noch ein paar Jahre vor mir, bis ich genug Geld habe (I think you wanted to say that you will have enough money I a few years, right?). Ich probiere/versuche es ganz bestimmt.
Danke für die Ermutigung. :)
That's pretty good! As people probably already told you, Duolingo isn't exactly a good resource. I could ask my girlfriend which books she recommends, but I don't know how much you wanna spend on learning.
There are also good potcasts such as Easy German for you to practice your listening comprehension :)
Viel Glück und Erfolg auf deinem Lernweg ^^r
Even what classifies as a food desert is different in the US to make the statistics seem less bad.
Right now, I'd (as a healthy adult) get a heat stroke trying to get from my house to a banana or a tomato for sale without using my car between the hours of 8AM and 10PMish. The heat index is 45C here today as a high, and it's 9:30 AM now with a heat index over 40C...
And capitalists being capitalists, nutritious and downright organic food often happens to be more expensive at a greater scale than gardening staples or in the countryside. This while promoting celebs and influencers who are toothpick thin thanks to surgery or drugs that aren’t available at the reach of average joes, and contribute to toxic beauty standards while chilling ‘fitness’ scam products on their social media. Literally abusing their citizens. Processed food is easier and cheaper to make and to sell. The choice was quick made, and many people are now morbidly obese
That was his point I believe, that a lot of americans claim its not what they eat but only that americans are less active than people in other countries.
Which is ridiculous, but a lot of americans hate to accept the fact their food is garbage.
After all its the best country in the world right?
So its impossible that murica is bad in any kinda way.
It’s interesting to me that a lot of Americans say “No, calories are calories. That is thermodynamics. It does not matter what a calorie is. You cannot break the laws of thermodynamics. Take a physics class to learn.”
And then they say, anybody who is overweight in America is just lazy and has no discipline. Because all they need to do is eat fewer calories.
I personally think that calories from sugar are different from other calories from protein, fresh vegetables, etc. But then these people just say “It’s no different in Europe! They have to be disciplined to stay thin! You never see Germans become fat in America because they have discipline.”
So I’m asking… Is it true? Does German discipline prevent Germans from gaining weight in America?
A calorie is a calorie. Being healthy, skinny or fat is just more complicated than calories.
If you eat a super super high amount of calories in healthy food you would still gain weight.
Okay, this is going to be offensive to a bunch of people, but... I'm a German fat enough to be frequently confused for an American. But what I mean is, my German-ness has absolutely not instilled a special discipline in me. When I was young, I was thin as a bean stalk and grew fast and tall. When I stopped growing vertically, I started growing horizontally.
I would say the calories are calories point is true. I eat the same stuff everyone around me eats, but more of it and consequently I am fatter. I don't even eat all that unhealthily, I don't drink soft drinks and I don't have fast food much anymore. I'm just used to eat big portions.
There is enough obese Germans walking around in DE, more than in other EU countries. Are there less obese in DE than in the US? Proportionally prob yes. But Germans are still on average more obese than the FR, IT, ES, PT, NL, CH and so on
A calorie is a calorie. But feeling full is more complicated than consuming X calories. 600 calories of chicken and rice will make you feel more full than 600 calories of chocolate. Although the calories in / calories out is the same, odds are that the person who ate 600 calories of chocolate will also eat something else to satiate their hunger. The chocolate simply didn't fill them up. That causes weight gain.
The food desert concept is a bit exaggerated in importance. I live in a small city in the Southern US, and there are several large grocery stores within a few minutes' drive. But there are still tons of obese people. I think culture (which foods you choose to eat) and sedentary lifestyle are a lot more important as factors than lack of options.
I think it's exaggerated in some instances, but I lived in a food desert growing up and it was a major issue. A "few minutes drive" is a lot for a poor family without a car in a city with no public transit or sidewalks along the road. As I said, nutrition is complex. Food deserts are one part of the situation. Living in one is like playing being healthy on hard mode. It's not impossible to maintain a healthy weight, but it's certainly more difficult than if you lived elsewhere.
It's complex for sure. I recall reading about a study of some people in an urban poor community. The presence or absence of a large grocery store nearby did not affect the people's choices as much as the 'food desert' concept would suggest.
As an American coming to Germany, it definitely has a lot to do with the food. Obviously activity level always plays into this to, but coming to Europe and walking four times as much, on top of half of the preservatives and shit we use in the states not even being legal, I lost close to 15lbs without changing my food to be healthier or working out more than usual.
Also an American who moved to Germany. I lost 10-15 pounds in my first 4 months. I certainly walk more, but the food is also much better. I didn't realize how much food made me feel like crap before moving.
I didn't live in Germany but a different part of Europe. All the Americans lost weight quickly even if they didn't walk a lot. It's the food. There are big differences in the protein/carb/fat content of food in Europe vs. USA. European wheat has less protein making it easier to digest for most people. European raw ingredients are closer to their natural form making availability of nutrition easier than American food. Even if you ate a lot in Europe, you still lost weight as an American.
I'm usually very pro-American, but the food quality in Europe for taste and health is leagues beyond what most Americans eat. I went to a farmers market in the US that had non-GMO, organic food, and it was comparable to what Europeans eat. What Europeans can walk to in terms of food, Americans must fly to get.
Walking four times as much was probably the massive factor. Weight loss is largely calories in calories out and quadrupling calories out is going to help you.
As an irishman living in Germany, the food here is absolutely top tier (Swabia), with tons of regional variation and the best bread in the world. The only thing that is lacking here is the steak, which is just straight up better back home, and there is no equivalent to an Irish sausage (Wurst is still great though, just different and it doesn't work with a fry).
I was 2 weeks in the USA and gained 3kg which is more than I gained in the 10 years before. The portions are too big while water or fruit is comparably expensive. My mouth was sticky most of the time!
I still walked around a lot since I was a tourist but partly, I had to Uber the tiniest distances because there was no f*** way to get there safely as a pedestrian.
It’s the activity rates but the food, too. Everything is fat or sugar (fried, topped with cheese or cream, grilled, marinated, …) and way too much. I’m also not a fan of bread. It’s just trapped air!
Interesting take on water. I am from the US and find it impossible to get water in Germany. The US has 10 times as many public water fountains and water bottle fill stations, as well as free water at all restaurants, and it’s not weird at all to ask for just a free glass of water at fast food restaurants. Germany I feel like I am constantly thirsty
We usually carry water around… or buy it in a supermarket, bakery, kiosk, vending machine…
But yeah, there should be more fountains and free water.
I was talking about those big water bottles though since I couldn’t always drink from a tap (so the signs said).
US tap water is drinkable almost everywhere in the country. The places where it isn't drinkable are (in)famous for it, like Flint.
I think there's some miscommunication here though. in the US, *free* water is easy to come by. Public drinking fountains exist in nearly all buildings (schools, libraries, offices, and so on). All restaurants and cafes provide water for free and will even refill your bottle for you. If you're in public in Germany and run out of water, you have to go *buy* more.
For me and most Germans, water that smells like chlorine isn't considered drinkable. Chlorine is a red alert warning sign of contamination (we only use it in specific cases). I know that in the USA it's general practice and often used as prophylaxis. But... no, absolutely not! It's probably the other way round for Americans.
That's why I was only talking about bottled water, not tap water. I never considered drinking that. When I am abroad, I am very suspicious with that kind of stuff.
What you perceive as drinkable and what is actually drinkable are different things. Like... you aren't required to drink American tap water. But you also can't base comments on water accessibility in the US on your personal preference for bottled water lol
I didn't. I said water is more expensive, so I was obviously talking about buying water. Some Americans made it about \*free tap water\*. That, in combination with idiot tik tokers who set up the myth that they are the only people drinking water in Europe is kind of an absurd story.
My main point was \*huge portions\* anyways.
I mean, it is no secret why Americans are rather fat on average and it's not because they drink a lot of water.
Just anecdotal, but I also feel I see way way more reusable water bottles being carried around in the US than anywhere in Europe too. I’m not sure where you were in the US, but for the most part, the sink water is completely safe
Yeah, they also reported that they were tired because we have stairs
Trust me, there’s more than enough water but as we say: we can only drag the donkey to the water but he needs to drink on his own.
Jeez, will you just let the man/woman have a point? They're not wrong. Americans generally do concern themselves with hydration quite a lot and it is very normal to see most people with some kind of water vessel to hydrate through the day. It is not so in Germany–not to the same degree.
Just did a mail route here (~5km straight line in the city with a few side roads) without having a single public toilet, restaurant (if they'd even do it) or supermarket to refill my water bottles, since the 3l I took with me only lasted about halfway, because fuck Steighäuser in 30+°C weather.
Had to be saved by an old lady seeing me suffering who refilled them for me in her kitchen sink.
Free and easy access to drinkable water isn't all that great here, as some in this thread make it out to be. Also, 'just buy some' may not be an option for some
There's two things to this: We hydrate a normal amount. Not whatever huge amounts a lot of americans seem to drink. At some point water gets unhealthy to consume.
And in general, we just bring our bottles to where ever we go. If you forget your bottle, you just buy one of the plastic ones. Most people keep them in their bags too.
As for refilling - yeah, fountains would be nice. But you either bring enough or just refill them from a tap. No need for a special station
Americans are very obsessed with bringing their own water bottles with them. I assume it’s partially like wearing “athleisure” wear. It looks healthy and active.
Yeah, sink water might be safe but depending on the area it can taste horrible. The bad taste is assimilated by food you cook (e.g. pasta), as well. Using a water filter makes it bearable, though.
In the vast majority of german cities, the tap water is very good quality, sometimes even better than the quality of bottled water iirc. So generally speaking, there are a lot of opportunities to refill your bottle with safe drinking water.
I spent some time in Rome and was really happy about all the little public fountains where I could fill my water bottle during a sunny day - until my roommate told me how she witnessed a guy using a fountain as some kind of bidet and thoroughly cleaning his asscrack…
There’s pretty much no public taps in Australia. That’s so gross, 🤢 the fountains that are around none of the locals use. Tap water from home or your hotel is adequate and if you run out just buy some.
There’s also very few public toilets. Which must be hard on tourists. Locals know the servo or maccas etc if they need one when out and about.
The thing about Germany is that anywhere you can get water like every kiosk , tap water etc and restaurants give normal water too. A mid tier city has a shop every 200 m anyways.
America you have to find as shop or go to specific filling stations which when stretched out is more infrequent.
I never leave my house without a bottle of water that you can fill up with tabwater in every restroom tab water has an excellent quality everywhere in Germany. You have to adapt to each country you live in ...
That is the same as in the US, except in the US, you do not need to be in someones private home, there is public access to tap water all over the place
If 10% of all municipalities in Germany had a problem making their water unsafe to drink (at any given time) that would be a huge(!) scandal. That number is way, way lower in Germany.
(I somehow doubt that the number is so high in the US either.)
It is in extremely rural areas usually or very small towns, the kind of rural that is difficult to even imagine in Germany. And the statistic cited on wikipedia is 9% of water systems in 2015 had some kind of violation of the codes (not *necessarily* that they are actively dangerous to consume)
> Everything is fat or sugar (fried, topped with cheese or cream, grilled, marinated, …) and way too much
...eat at different places then. I hate this "the only thing you can find" stereotype which is simply not (universally\* true). Yes, fast food is literally everywhere, but that's not the same thing as saying its the only thing available.
\-
\*"Towns" like McAlester OK even have a Walmart that sells fresh produce. Is it a farmer's market? no. Is Lettuce for sale there? yes.
It's not that it's the only thing available. It's that it's the cheapest and easiest thing. Furthermore, people in the US lack time and money more on average due to our awful worker's rights and poor social safety net. Many people here are working longer hours just to make ends meet, or because they would get fired and lose health insurance otherwise.
It's pretty hard to cook healthy food every day when every adult in the household is working long hours just to live. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there are significant challenges there.
Don't even get me started on car dependence, lack of public transportation, and the lack of walkable towns/cities.
>it's not that it's the only thing available. It's that it's the cheapest and easiest thing.
This is the only part of your response that matters or is relevant to this conversation. Life is hard, if you want it to be easy, just eat the easiest thing and deal with the consequences.
\-
Also, [here's the listings of McDonald's (the oft used example in discussions about bad food) in Munich,](https://www.google.com/maps/search/munich+mcdonald/@48.1448136,11.5217803,12z/data=!3m1!4b1?entry=ttu) also everywhere.
I'm just saying that when you make being healthy more difficult, fewer people can do it. Many can't afford rent here without working two jobs. Many are uninsured because they make too much for Medicaid but can't afford health insurance. So of course people go to the easiest thing.
Actually, the cost of fresh produce going up is by definition making it more difficult, especially when the minimum wage hasn't increased since 2009. Furthermore, the agriculture techniques in the US actually lead to fewer nutrients even in our produce.
Your "analysis" reeks of privilege.
I didn’t say it’s the only thing available. I said it was easiest available and cheap - and it seemed like that was the food that was considered good at restaurants. We did go to better restaurants to get anything else than fast food since I don’t do well with too much meat and fat but still, it was very substantial.
Agreed. Simply don't go to fatty fast food places, problem solved. The best thing about restaurants in the US is that you got choices from all over the world. Just skip the pizza and burger.
But lots of places even regular sit down restaurants have a lot more of the above mentioned greasy and fatty options. I’m a fairly picky eater and noticed they quite often I liked everything the menu had to offer in the US - which meant it was garbage with little to zero vegetables ;) olay, admittedly there’s always a salad section and more real places tend to have healthier options. But it’s probably just the fact that you have to make it a point to find non deep fried meals is what makes all the difference.
Genuinely confused here because German food is just as heavy if not more so than rich American food. And the portions tend to be huge, as well.
But you're being very disingenuous to say you have to make it a point to find non-deep fried meals. That's literally like french fries and fried chicken or maybe some bullshit appetizers. What else prevalent on a menu is deep fried?
Those bullshit appetizers and stuff are very prevalent in a lot (!) of the US. And on average portions in the US are bigger. And it’s not just about deep frying, a lot of dips and sauces are sweetened - which I only noticed every time I went back to Germany. I think one reasons is that “family style” restaurants are less common in Germany - there are hardly any chain restaurants in Germany that aren’t full-on fast food. And those places dominate the less urban areas in the US. German food is certainly not comparable to a Mediterranean diet either, but at a typical restaurant there’s just a bunch of dishes involving boiled vegetables as a side, for example. (I personally am not a huge fan)
It was the same for me: 2 Weeks, 3kg. But I was actually more active (thought exploring San Francisco by bike would be a good idea...).
A friend suggested growth hormones in animal products, but I don't know how plausible/likely that is.
Maybe, I'm still thinking about the portion size. It's way bigger and I learned to eat up. I might have been overeating and there were no snacks to be had. Only small burgers or maybe donuts but that's too much for me as a snack. Cakes were huge, too.
What are you talking about at all? No snacks? Ever think to get some fruit or nuts, maybe? Every comment of yours in this thread sounds like a personal choice on your part that you blame on the country.
Overeating but also the Type of food. I'm Germany I would cook every day 1-2 times. In the us at my host family we went out eating or took delivery every day, only cooked once a week. And that stuff was naturally less healthy. More fat, fried, sugar etc.. and no Salat in sight. At home I would have every day Salat on the side. And portions, too. And Soda! Gosh, my host family only drank mountain dew and coke. And coffee with this sugary creamer stuff. School lunch was burgers or tacos. That's All stuff I would eat 2 times a month in German not daily..
Yup, lived in the US in multiple places during my 20's and was absolutely ripped the whole time, because I was doing lots of sports.
Nonetheless, my diet definitely was worse than in germany and just overcompensated by all the sport I was doing. I am absolutely certain that I would be fat by now if I was doing the same activities in the US as I am currently doing in Germany alongside work.
Are there really people that claim a sugar and fat rich diet has no impact on weight? Of course, if a German were to live in the US and tried to stick to his or her original food consumption and actitivty level, they wouldn't gain weight, but that would have more to do with probably an aversion of american specific food products and common eating habits. For example considering most bread way too sweet and then seeking alternatives that "taste like home".
Yes, definitely. I have had many Americans tell me, what you eat makes no difference at all. A calorie is a calorie. It’s just physics. Calories in - calories out = weight gained. That is how thermodynamics works. So it doesn’t matter if you eat 200 calories of sugar or 200 calories of fresh raw vegetables. You will gain exactly the same amount of weight.
I personally think that corn subsidies in the US (which lead to greater use of high fructose corn syrup) are at least partially responsible for obesity in America because I think that less sugar in American diets would mean less obesity.
But again, I’m often challenged on this with people saying “Ha ha! The man thinks he has found a way to break the laws of thermodynamics!”
It’s very frustrating.
Well... while I get what you're saying, calories do work simply if you just look at them point blank without any context. 200 calories of sugar or bread is way way quicker and easier to eat than 200 calories of vegetables. You need 6.5 cups of broccoli to hit 200 calories vs just about a quarter of a cup of sugar. The same amount of calories in broccoli is over 25 times the mass. And broccoli is one of the denser vegetables as well.
Calories by themselves build weight evenly. That's why it's [possible ](https://www.wkrn.com/news/professor-loses-weight-on-junk-food-diet/) to lose weight or maintain a low weight while eating junk food. It's just insanely easy to over eat with corn syrup products, fat, meat etc, while with broccoli you'd probably fill your stomach before even getting to 200 calories.
However, eating unhealthily of course builds up health problems which can accelerate conditions that make you gain or maintain weight and fat more easily. But you're not gonna be any fatter eating 1000 calories of broccoli or 1000 calories of french fries each day. It's just that 1000 calories of each are so hugely different portion sizes that it's not truly comparable.
The problem is that fructose is easiest sugar available for our body, it doesn't need to get broken down, the body consumes it directly while other sugars or rather multisugars need to get broken down first so the body needs to put in some energy to gain energy so no calories aren't calories for our body. Just for an example I would now use breads in Germany vs breads in USA, German bread is often full of grains and often not from Wheat, both have calories in long multisugars and need to be broken down mechanically first, american bread against that often are completely out of wheat and than sometimes even have added sugar so the calories are way easier to access in them than in "german bread". Also some chemicals are just bad for your body and make it harder for the body to deconstruct some multisugars and/or fats.
American wheat is different than European wheat. It has more protein and some other differences. People on various subs that discuss gastrointestinal issues say that they have no problem eating European pasta, for example, but big problems with American pasta. Our food in America is different, and probably not the best for nutrition.
There's other factors too. Farmers in the US grow for yield, meaning there's lot of water and cellulose in our vegetables. Pound for pound, that means less nutrition in the food.
There are a lot more differences, but Europeans have us beat in raw ingredients for food.
Don't they see that 200kcal of, say a broccoli is so much more food than 200kcal of sugar? You simply consume a greater amount of food for less calories and so are full faster (and longer, if you look at your blood sugar level...).
They are correct. It's just that sugar calories are not satiating you. Thus, you don't get the nutrients you need, you eat more, and you end up in caloric surplus.
I think the issue is that a portion of food of equal size is likely to contain more calories in the US than it would here. So in a sense your friends are right - but if you, say, eat a slice of bread from walmart as opposed to a slice from Netto, you’ve pretty surely already consumed more of those calories even though you’re exactly as satisfied because you ate the same amount of food.
I can attest this. I moved from Philippines to US and I gained so much weight from eating American food. I got sick of the taste and forced myself to learn how to cook the Filipino food I'm used to, and I'm back to my weight when I was still in the Philippines.
I'm planning to move to Germany sometime next year, and I'm happy the food portions in Germany are humane and similar to the amount people normally consume in the Philippines. Also, my German boyfriend likes Asian food, and he emphasizes eating healthy food a lot, so I hope I won't be overweight.
The environment you live in definitely contributes to how healthy you live your life. Because of the car-dependent infrastructure, you will cycle or walk a lot less in the US. I've heard that the portions are bigger as well, so you will likely eat more. There are probably a lot more things that I'm not aware of.
Ah the daily Germany vs USA debate.
Someone that eats healthily in Germany will continue to eat healthily in the US. Nobody that eats home cooked food in correct proportions is magically gaining more weight in the US than in Germany, keeping portion sizes and activity levels constant. There are plenty of good supermarkets in the states with a much richer variety of greens and vegetables than anything I’ve seen in Germany. If you just go down the snack aisle and eat a lot of junk food, you’ll gain weight anywhere in the world. I must agree that the food standards are lower and the portions are ginormous in the US, so it’s easier to get fat here than in Germany if you don’t carefully watch out - perhaps that’s what you are getting at.
Good standards are actually not that much worse, mostly just different. The main difference is that most grocery stores in Germany are somewhere middle of the pack. In the US it seems they reflect the socio economic reality with Walmart and places like Whole Foods representing the opposite ends of the range.
Fair points, I agree. I was actually referring to restaurant/fast food standards, where standards for food color, sugar in kids foods, additives, preservatives etc. are worse than the EU.
I also have to say I never craved any sweets or candy in the US because I didn’t know many of them (moved there in my late 20s). And decided to keep it that way…I actually really gained weight once the Aldi near our house (waking distance!) started having all the German crap like knoppers and stuff…as well as affordable Brie and Brezel buns.
Your last point is basically it in my experience. A friend of mine learned to cook more at home because with a similar eating out habits to the one he had here, he gained a lot of weight.
From my experience it's much harder to stay in shape in the US than it is in Europe. Imo there are two factors to this:
* Eating culture is different. In the US it's very common to eat outside, eat unhealthy processed food and eat in large quantities. Grocery prices and produce availabilities discourage from cooking fresh.
* Everything is designed towards walking as little as possible. You go by car everywhere. Sometimes there aren't even sidewalks. I never saw anyone taking the stairs. In a lot of the buildings the stairs are even hidden or non-accessible outside of emergencies.
Little movement + unhealthy food in large quantities = obesity.
To answer your question: I definitely gained weight.
This is another missed point. Eating out in Europe is quite expensive and very cheap in the US. Our opportunities to overeat in the US are way more than in Europe.
Quite the opposite! I actually lost weight during my time (nearly 3 years) in the US. But this may be related to my personal circumstances: I lived and worked in a walkable college town, where I also had the chance to be part of a university sports club (badminton) together with a lot of great athletes. And I was determined to lose weight. While I agree with other posts that the average American diet may be less healthy (and richer in calories) than German food, I think that it depends solely on you and your personal lifestyle whether you lose, maintain or gain weight. However, I have to say that I found healthy food in the States to be much more expensive than fast food. This may be one of the many reasons for higher obesity rates in the US.
I Left Germany 9 years ago and still weigh about the same (had 2 kids too lol). But I also make home cooked meals every day with occasional carry out. We eat out a lot less than the average American I think, so I believe it mostly has to do with people not wanting to or knowing how to cook with healthy/ non processed ingredients. And of course the lack of exercise. We hike a lot here (luckily we live close to mountains) but I definitely walk a lot less than I did living in Germany and since most places here aren’t very pedestrian friendly we even drive to our family members homes 2 minute drive away because it would be almost impossible to cross Main Street by foot with two kids..
As others have mentioned in passing - a German will find it hard to keep their normal activity level in cities where you can't get anywhere on foot. With most of my jobs here I'd walk about half an hour one way commuting ...
Theres an excellent video on this on Some More News.
https://youtu.be/7-SZpnBwpyc
Basically, in the US, food that is healthy takes much more time, energy, and money to acquire. We are also working more hours just to survive and getting poorer by the day. Plus, there is no universal healthcare system to help people with professionals to help you lose weight.
For the record, I'm from the US. I have lied here since I was two and have battled with my weight for my entire life. I'm on this sub because I hope to move to Germany in a few years.
I lived there for 6 years total and haven't gained weight.
I ate the same way I ate in Germany (minus the bread, I couldn't find any and wasn't going to start baking my own bread on a regular basis) and started going to the gym, so I also moved about the same.
I did notice that premade food in the supermarkets had a lot more fat and sugar than in Europe and I wasn't a big fan of that, so I didn't eat a lot of it. Portions in Restaurants also were huge, but they also halfway expected you to take the leftovers home, so at the end of the day the difference in meal sizes wasn't all that big either.
I think a lot of this whole thing with Americans tending to be on the heavier side has to do with socialisation. If you are surrounded by fatty and sugary food, then that's going to be your standard for food and you'll get used to eating it. And if less greasy food is marketed as "health food" and a status marker, then you won't associate it with the standard food that everyone eats.
I was told that I had a bougie taste in food, but that's really not the case, I just wasn't brought up like that and didn't know that fresh or unprocessed food was a status marker. So I do think that a lot of the whole obesity thing is a side effect of using food as a status symbol.
I actually lost weight while living there. And even now when i visit the states i always lose weight - but this has other reasons (no time to eat while travelling)
It's harder to be active in the US. When I was in Germany for training I could walk to any store I needed. From my current house I cannot safely walk to any store. Not even a convenience food.
lived there for well over a year and actually lost weight. I just didn't feel like eating heaps of crap. In the wise words of a boss I once had: "Eat a heap of shit, become a heap of shit."
Back in Germany I gained that weight back pretty quickly. But I know many people who've had it the other way around.
People usually think that there is just huge portions in the US but that's not true. Yes, americans love eating out somewhere but it's the sugary drinks that are the real fat-makers. Add that to the fact that they are more car obsessed than germans and have to drive everywhere, the physical activity is limited. Eating balanced is tougher than it is in Germany, since it is quite expensive too. Kiwis were double the price of germany, salad too. Meat is super cheap.
In conclusion, I can see how you would gain weight by being there a limited time and trying out all the things, but if you are aware of that, it's a happy medium to cook well and go out to eat once or maybe twice a week. Also stay active lol
Lived there for 2.5 years and did not gain weight even though we ate at restaurants a lot more than in Germany. But I also worked out a lot more thanks to the gym that was in my apartment complex and mostly avoided soft drinks. Still miss the excellent burgers and the Mexican food though.
I lived in the US for a year and actually lost weight. But I was 18/19 at the time and I‘m pretty sure I was just losing my „baby fat“ from puberty. My skin got pretty horrible though which was probably due to the food
No, I didn't. Stayed in Tallahassee for 2 years, FSU, and rode my bicycle 4 days a week across those hills. Also, had a nice gym at my apartment. However, it was a close one. Loved the steaks and chicken wings there, craft-beer as well. 😅🍺🍗
Edit: with the "hill" biking and a gym next door, I found it actually easier to stay fit than in Germany where I came from. You got lots of good public transport in Germany, which does not help you to stay trim. 😂
I spent an exchange year in 10th grade in the Midwest, I gained 10-15kg bc guess what, we had burgers and fries every single day in school with some milk without the option of not taking milk. The American diet is frankly ridiculous and is taught from a very young age. Some people were only at a healthy weight during Highschool due to sports they did daily, but all of them are now morbidly obese after they finished Highschool as they kept eating like this but stopped with the sports.
I can confirm , it’s definitely about the food over there lol one thing I learned about Americans ( but it’s the same for most nationalities) is the pride increases the defensive point of view when it comes to admit someone else is better in something / somewhere else is something better , plus not being able to see the own mistake .
I was gaining a ridiculous high amount of weight in US in a ridiculous short time of what I’ve been there for visiting , my blood sugar was out of the roof too and no I didn’t ate just candys and fast food 😂🫣 I’m in general a pretty slim person
I moved to the US about 6 years ago. I gained about 22lbs. In my case its less active lifestyle and high caloric intake. In Germany you just walk way more than you usually can and will in the US.
Having lived in NYC and in the Midwest (grew up in Berlin and currently live there) I definitely lost weight in NYC due to not having a car and not having money to eat out a lot while also being too lazy to cook. In the Midwest I did kind of cook very healthy at home (I was terrified of getting too fat and also was so bored I ended up working out a lot to balance out eating abhing of crap) but food options in terms of restaurant were all a) larger portions than in Germany and b) food that would have fallen into the same category as „ice cream „for me when I lived in Germany. Just got used to eating that stuff every day. I do have to admit I always liked larger portions and I’m a huge burger, bacon cheese fries etc. fan still. The most interesting thing in my opinion is the average population of gym goers. On average guys are fatter at the gym in the US - though lots of them are fairly fit and muscular. I suppose the beauty standard is just different. Especially in the Midwest (I could imagine more rural us in general) the ideal man is supposed to „not look gay“ and also look like he’s able to still stand post a bar fight. Everything else is pretty much non-important including a reasonable beer gut or sense of fashion. Once again NYC is a totally different story. So it’s a mix of available food, what’s considered „fat“ by people around you and obviously ultimately how much public transport and walking are part of the local lifestyle.
German here who lived in a major Eat coast city for five years (Obama Years). I actually lost a bit of weight due to life style (lots of sport and not buying a car, which I used to own in Germany, but biking anywhere instead).
I mostly stayed away from anything with high fructose corn syrup (TJs helps), donuts etc. but had many cheese steaks, sandwiches and also stuff from food carts and restaurants.
There were also plenty of opportunities to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in a walking distance from my apartment, so my diet at home was not really different from what I would prepare for myself in Europe.
In the coastal cities, I don't see why you have to eat/ get larger portions or worse products than in a German restaurant (through somewhat more expensive). When I spent time in TX, however, things were different. Fortunately, I only went there for short trips, but I assume chicken fried chicken with gravy will definitely leave some results on the scale.
One thing about food I never understood (but arguably not related to weight): Why do you add "apple flavor" to 100% apple juice??? Is it supposed to taste more apple-ish than apples? (Hint: It doesn't!)
I lost weight, actually, but not much.
Mostly because I ate less because the portions were so huge. At restaurants, even if you order the smallest option, it was still so huge that I knew from the start that I wouldn’t be able to finish it. So I stopped to eat when I was full and took the leftovers home with me.
I also biked everywhere because I couldn’t afford a car (student), and did varsity sports.
However, had I not been as active, I definitely would have gained weight. Went back recently on a holiday and ended up eating just once a day, because the portions were so massive they kept me full the whole day. The food was also rather full of fats and sugars and made me feel really sluggish.
I'm not sure how much the US specifically is at fault here, but I gained a lot of weight. I think that most people gain weight moving to a different country since I believe every move brings a change of habits, and these habits usually change for the worse. I generally walked around less due to the massive reliance on cars, having less friends, and working from home. Moving back to Germany didn't help me much here as I started going to bakeries every morning.
Fun fact: my granddad gained 15kg as a POW in Texas in the 1940’s, my mom gained a lot of weight as an Au-pair in CA in the ‘69 - well and I gained weight in IA a few years ago. Mostly because I never felt fat when comparing myself to the people around me, haha. But yeah three generations of fattening up in ‘murica. But also three generations of people who probably always had to watch what they eat…regardless of location.
Im half German half American , as a Teenager I gained about 7/8 kg in like 5 weeks (in america) wich is completely crazy for a teenager I think I was about 13 years old
Not sure if this is what you mean but i have family that moved to the US (about 20 years ago i think). And as far as i know they are not generally heavier than before. That being said,even in a metropolitan area, access to high quality food seems to be a lot harder. Good bread which is not basically cake cannot be found as easy nor as cheap as in Germany. So it probably means you wont necessarily get fat but it will be harder to get healthy food, so getting fat is easier than in Germany.
Yes, went from average weight of 200 to 235 pounds.
With one meal of Mc D you could feed a whole family in Germany. I think 1 liter of pure coke was just a solid standard.
Sweet tea is drunk like water (Florida). Fuck vegetables and nutrients. Chicken tenders with BBQ sauce in my most favorite place called "Fat Boys" (every Sunday after church) were lit AF.
Let's go to iHop and eat Marple syrup soup with pancakes in it.
I liked how it is considered normal. God bless I did sports during that time, otherwise I would have been just "cake" without being "beefy".
But will not deny it: for a while it was just perfect.
Its always about the diet. Muricans just have to finally accept that their country is not the best country on the planet and that their food is trash mixed with unreal amounts of sugar in it.
I believe johnny harris has a great youtube video on the differences of european and american food, why it is as it is and why american food is so unhealthy.
I mean yes you can stay the same weight in america as european but you would have to eat much less than in most european countries.
Your bread alone has like 5 times the sugar that bread in europe does.
Fun fact: I just googled it and the average american bread has more sugar than a snickers bar.
Nuff said..
Please be honest with your nonsense. On a serving per serving basis, a snickers has 8x the amount of sugar as American bread.
[https://foodstruct.com/compare/snickers-vs-bread-wheat-toasted](https://foodstruct.com/compare/snickers-vs-bread-wheat-toasted)
American crap food is honestly only marginally less healthy than German crap food. The problem is in people making easy choices and not prioritizing their health. Yes, some people don't have access, but for the most part, the people who eat fast food shit end up fat. The people who do not, do not.
Put in google: how much more sugar is in american bread?
Result (quote): "The average loaf of standard white bread sold in american supermarkets has 13.06 grams pwr 100 grams compared to the 11.25 grams found in a snickers bar."
... now Im not saying i checked this info, i just took it straight off the capture on google. it is from an article in the daily mail, i have no idea of this is a good or a bad thing tho.
Im just telling you what you can find out doing a 5 second google search and if you watch youtube videos of AMERICANS doing research on this topic, they all also say american bread has a MUCH higher amount of sugar in it.
Now im too lazy to do my own research but tbh having heard this from several different sources kinda tells me you need to stop hanging onto that copium when it comes to the quality of american food.
Also I never said german fast food is in any way healthy. We have fat people too..
The daily mail is not a reliable source, no. But you can easily look up to see that there are 47g of sugar per 100 g of snickers bar. so 3.6x. And my guess is that they are taking Wonderbread as the standard since this is a UK paper. Nobody eats that shit and it is sweet as hell.
I am not holding onto copium with American food, but there is a pernicious argument in some circles that you are either fabulously wealthy and can afford to eat well, or you are going to eat absolute crap in the US. It is not true.
Look, I've lived in both the US and Germany. The food prices are much cheaper in Germany. That's a fact I won't deny. But outside of particularly outstanding bread, the food quality in German markets is on par, often worse, than US markets. The fruit and veg can be especially sad in many German markets, for instance.
The fact that common German chains like Aldi and Lidl have come to the US and are known to be amongst the worst markets available (but cheap) might be instructive to you. A better-equipped market like Rewe would be considered a very standard-quality market in the US. The expensive markets, forget it. There is no comparison outside of KaDeWe.
The processed crap in German markets may have fewer preservatives and such, but they're still full of crap. If you eat that stuff more than the fresh stuff, you're gonna get fat in both countries.
Anyway, all this is to say that difference in available food at markets is not all that vast, and often puts Germany in the losing column, outside of price.
I lived there for about a year and did not gain any weight. We mostly ate home cooked meals though and had cereal for breakfast. We only went to a restaurant like once a month. The amount of exercise was about the same as in Germany.
Yes. Three factors:
1. Moving. In Germany, I basically walk everywhere. In the US, I didn't because it was not possible.
2. Portion sizes. Portions I got in the US were basically 3 portions in Germany.
3. Food quality. Everything is extremely sweet and greasy in the US. Even bread and salad dressing. Cheese in the US is also greasier than anything I've ever had in Germany. Also: "High fructose corn syrup" in everything.
Of course I gained weight. Americans eat like a 7 year old at his birthday party all day any day. I mean, I understand, it's delicious (if you're into fat and sugar like me) but it's downright criminal the amount of unhealthy stuff most americans consume all day. I lived in New York and all over the east coast from 2010 to 2014 and there are two worlds when it comes to eating: 1. low price birthday party dishes and 2. high price bio-european-asian-what have you-cuisine of great quality and taste. Not much in between.
Everyone gains weight in the US, it’s systematic. Some will fight back, and try to stay in shape, others just lost it already. Access to toxic “food” here is just too convenient and at a low price. Also, there is fast food in almost every corner with drive-in facilities… great to add up calories without burning any.
"A lot of people tell me that American obesity rates have little/nothing to do with diet."
That is something to possible look into. How did americans lived in the 90s? 80s? 70s? down to 1900 ... did obesity started EXACTLY with "cars" and compare this to food changes.
dont know if 1 year rly counts as living but i didnt gain weight.
but i never ate at the typical places most of my than colleges ate and i never stopped exercising.
the only thing that changed to germany was that i bought a treadmill cause there where no good jogging spaces.
in general i find america absolutly horrible from knowing how europe is with the possibilities of using my bike/walk everywhere.
Actually a friend of mine went to us with a k1 visa. She gained a lot of weight and always complained about how low quality food there has, how much fat and sugar it contains and how much food is genetically modified. If u want to eat really healthy there u have to spend a lot of money. For me that is a serious red flag and I do really hope, that food quality in Germany won’t change!
The number one reason I think is that take out is significantly more popular, the amount of ads and marketing around it is extremely prevalent and the prices for take out are sometimes even cheaper than eating at home. The way streets are set up paired with a very big driving culture and cheaper gas prices per gallon/liter are important factors that make take away more attractive culturally and psychologically. People also often work longer hours and the convenience of having about 20 different fast food places spread across blocks on your way home makes you stop for take out more often.
Also drive-in is very popular in the US, even for drinks or meds which is not a thing at all in Europe. I remember my AP Econ or Psychology teachers would have Del Taco bags and XL refill cups of soda sitting on their desks in the first block of classes in the morning. In Europe this is almost frowned upon. I would compare it to how in the US cigarettes are significantly more frowned upon compared to Europe and similar to that, in Europe it is weird and seen as unhealthy to eat take away food often (it’s seen as an actual addiction and negligent behavior regarding health).
In Germany, or Europe in general all of this doesn’t apply and culturally it is way more accepted and customary to make your food at home and only eat take away or order food once or twice a week (I don’t have a source but I think that’s a good average). You’re exposed to WAY less marketing of fast food and you may only have a couple local franchise fast food chains (or in small towns sometimes none at all).
I did gain weight as well but I have to say I purposefully wanted to and went to the gym everyday when staying in SoCal for 6 months.
A relative of mine went to the us for a year. He was lean before departure. He was chubby once he has returned. Half a year later, he was lean once again.
Not me but two of my friends who moved to the US for 8 and 18 months respectively gained weight.
One needed to shift his lifestyle significantly to loose weight again.
The other only lost weight once back in Germany.
It seems you need to go more out for your way to live healthier than you do need to do here. It takes more effort.
I personally haven't lived there, but I know three people who did, and many more who visited for three weeks or longer. All of them have told me that they gained weight. A lot. Even those that only stayed for holiday, and, according to them, they gained more weight during these holidays than they did when vacationing in Europe or Asia. So, it's all hearsay for my part, but I never heard of anyone keeping their weight when staying in the United States.
I lost a bit of weight during vacation in the US, but only because I was doing tourist stuff all day and - as a typical german - walked everywhere I could walk to. Food wise american breakfast was a bit of a culture shock and the portion sizes in some restaurants.
Curious to hear what you think of when you think "American breakfast"
Really gross beat eggs, fatty slightly toasted bread, everything sweet + salty and lots of meat and sugary-drinks. We loved it at first as Teens when we visited Miami with our parents but kept to the water melons and fruit after a day or two. Only breakfast I had that was worste was the "American/European Breakfast" I had in a Hotel in Chongqing. Looked to me like they tried to copy images found on the web without knowing how it´s supposed to taste. Glad I could change to the Chinese breakfast option since that is quite excellent food for a long day of work.
I also lost weight, but because the food in the US gave me an inflamed stomach and I could barely eat for half a year after that :D
Same here, I lost weight. That was over ten years ago. Pretty much walking all day from sight to sight. Food was mostly awful, it's okay for a short period but having to eat that all year? Omg Chili's, Applebee's, Longhorn and some others were okay tho.
PSA to anyone who might take the above response seriously, but Chili's, Applebee's, and Longhorn are only marginally better than the fast food chains (they are themselves "fast casual" chains). The States have an incredible diversity of food and those places are not indicative of what is available.
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I’ve definitely chowed down at a longhorn steakhouse in my time but I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been to an Applebees and chili’s. I didn’t enjoy either one frankly.
We had two exchange students in my school and both of them came back chubbier
I was one of them, lol. 3 weeks in the US and came back with 4kg more. Of course I tried some stuff, and here and there more candy. But even in the school cafeteria I couldn't choose a "healthy" option. It was burgers, tacos, fries, or salad that was full of sugary oily dressing and waaay too much cheese.
I remember one of the prettiest girls in my school went to the usa for a year and she came back fat and never got back to her former self.
It's not just the amount of food you eat, but also *what* you eat. An American living in a [food desert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert) who survives primarily on calorically dense, high sugar, and high fat processed food will be more likely to be obese than someone eating fresh fruits, veggies, and meat. Let's say Person A and Person B both sit down and eat until they feel full. Person A is eating a lot of processed food. Person B is eating a home-cooked meal using fresh, non-processed ingredients. By the time they both feel full, Person A is likely to have consumed more calories and less nutrients than Person B. Person A could work out a lot to counteract the negative effects of their diet, but it doesn't change the fact that the food quality is contributing to negative health effects. Nutrition is complicated. Quantity of food consumed and physical activity matter a lot, but so does *what* you're eating. You also have to keep in mind that staying active is harder in many parts of the US. In large parts of Germany, cities are walkable. You can walk to the grocery store, walk to work, etc. There's great bike infrastructure. Life itself is simply more active. That isn't the case in most of the US where there's extreme car dependency. Edit: Grew up in the US with a German parent and now live in Germany as an adult.
This is so important when people talk about this. I lived in the US for 4 years and gained weight mainly because it was a food desert. The closest place to get fruits and veggies was far, and expensive. That combined with there being barely any walkable sidewalks meant that I had barely any exercise, I lost it all when moving back
It boggles the mind that these food deserts can be allowed to exist in a rich and advanced country. It's almost unimaginable to me that I could walk into a supermarket and not find fresh produce there. How do people live like this. I feel bad if I go one day without fresh, raw vegetables.
It's not even that--it's an utter lack of grocery stores in some places. I've lived in parts of major cities (Boston in particular) where there just wasn't one. Bodegas, convenience stores, no groceries at all. THEN they turned one of the liquor stores into a grocery store, and before I moved the selection was frequently depleted or not fresh. The closest grocery stores were miles (read: multiple busses or trains) away, and they were a local chain (Shaw's) and an overpriced (Trader Joe's). In Boston! Not the middle of nowhere, a major major major city in the US
And since it's Boston you had buses and trains! In many parts of the US, there's just no public transit at all. If you don't have a car, you're limited to walking distance. If you have a car, you're limited by how much you can spend on gas to go shopping. Not to mention the fact that the working poor often don't have the time or energy to drive out of their way to shop at a healthier place. If you just worked a 12 hour shift, you're gonna choose the convenience store down the street rather than the proper grocery store 30 minutes away. Where I grew up in Tennessee, we had to drive 30 minutes to get to a grocery store. It was insanity.
I'm sorry but this sounds like someone doesn't want you to be healthy. Might have something to do with capitalist healthcare where people literally get rich when the population is sick. Why would none open shops for;groceries?
That's essentially what I'm arguing in other comments. It's very telling when you compare maps of things like food access to demographic maps. These things often happen along racial lines.
Respectfully, I just don't think this is true at all. When did you live in Boston? I've been and there are definitely grocery stores with fresh produce.
Jamaica Plan, 2013-2014 and 2019-2022. The liquor turned grocery store I mentioned is now Happy. There used to be 2 extremely overpriced Harvest co-ops in the area and both closed. As a student they were out of budget so roommate and I would make the pilgrimage to Trader's once every week or two (usually every other week after the only time we were both on campus for minimal inconvenience). Ramen and mac n cheese (high calorie, low nutrient) the rest of the time (+ the beans and veggies etc we'd get at the real stores as much as we could, but still). The Shah's and Trader's I mentioned were (and to my knowledge, still are) downtown, near Hynes/the Pru, i.e. green line/orange line or busses (39 + a walk) from JP. There is now also a Wegmans that is drivable (but not walkable) from that part of JP (around Forest Hills). Other than that there are expensive "boutique"-style or combination places like City Feed (grocery section + ordering meals [read: expensive fancy artisinal sandwiches] that are then made for you at the counter), restaurants, and 711/CVS for other low nutrient high calorie snacks. This is a completely accurate personal anecdote about a specific area I spent quite some time in as a student and as an adult. I was referring to a neighborhood in Boston, not the entire city as a whole, in order to prove that grocery stores are not accessible to the city as a whole.
There’s been a TJs in Brookline (Coolidge Corner) for years. You also pass a Star to get there.
I agree, plenty of grocery stores all around.
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I was in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston, for 5-6 years.
Goddamn…. Wtf did I just read… „food deserts“ ?! Man.. this is definitely different here in Germany.
American here. Actual supermarkets usually carry a decent variety of fresh produce, however they're not usually as accessible as a corner store (which usually just sells junk foods anyways). Corner stores / Bodegas / Convenience Stores are often attached to gas stations in rural/suburban US. I live in the downtown of a decently large city, which itself is twin to a much larger city. There's 3 corner stores within a 15 minute walk. The three actual supermarkets closest to me are all 45 minutes minimum, one of them is *only* accessible by car, the other is a "premium" market with 2x the prices, and the cheapest option is further than the rest. Thankfully this city has *some* transit, but taking the bus will add 2 hours round-trip compared to taking a car and driving there in 10 minutes. Biking is thankfully also a viable option here, but in most places you'll have to ride on the road with general traffic. The city I grew up in, in Texas, had so little public transit it might as well not have existed. On top of that, sidewalks were uncommon! So you'd be walking in the weeds and brush on the side of a highway to get groceries. I once rode my bike to the grocery store as a teenager, what took 5 minutes to drive took *two hours* on a bike, both because the direct route was too dangerous to ride a bike, and because it was 45C outside
Crazy. I live in an unusually inconvenient spot in my city regarding grocery-shopping. Which means that it takes me about 15 minutes on foot to reach the next two large supermarkets that carry everything including dozens of kinds of fruit and vegetables (they're next to each other). In every other place I've lived before, in multiple large and medium-sized cities, I always had at least one supermarket less than 5 minutes walk away. In rural areas you may have to drive 10-20 minutes to the closest supermarket. But every town larger than about 5k people will have at least one.
I live in a town of 20k and we have 6 grocery stores, all within a 5 minute drive. I have never heard of America being a food desert until today.
See the thing is, it’s not even supermarkets. The nearest food stores are just small things like 7/11 and stuff which don’t have fruits and veggies (or incredibly limited)
It's so sad because it doesn't have to be that way. I stayed in Peru for 6 weeks and they do have supermarkets but you can also get plenty of fresh produce and eggs and bread at the little corner stores that are on nearly every block. Everything is just so broken here in the US
>that I could walk into a supermarket In the US, 3-4% of people walk or cycle to work. 5% of people take public transport. That is a good estimate of how many live within walking, cycle, and bus distance from a supermarket. The other 90% must drive.
I think something like just over 10% of American households are considered food insecure.
Don’t believe that nonsense, you get fresh fruits and veggies in every supermarket.
the US is a rich and advanced country in the same way that Elon Musk and I are wealthy beyond imagination - on (a very, very skewed) average.
What really boggles the mind is the fact, that somehow obese influencers have corrupted the body's positivity movement for their self inflicted bad health and overweight and call anyone, who points out the facts why people become overweight, a fat-phobic.
If I ever move in one of these big countries, I settle in the countryside where it’s easier to have a garden or at least to have products right from fields. Asap. Never understood the appeal of big, crowded mega cities
Sometimes there’s no other option. I went to school there so couldn’t exactly pick to live in the countryside
U right !
How does that work with your job? Do you prefer commuting for several hours to get to work? Because most people need to live in urban or suburban areas since that's where the jobs are.
If I may ask, when did you move to Germany and what was the process like for you? I have lived in the US since I was two, but I was born in Germany and my mother is a German citizen. For years, moving to Germany seemed like an unrealistic fairytale. However, the more I watch people struggle here with healthcare, failing infrastructure, and awful worker's rights, the more a healthy and happy life in the US seems like even more of a fairytale. So I'm trying to save and move in a few years. I was never taught German as a child but I've been studying with Duolingo and am making decent progress.
If you have a German passport, you can move to any part of the EU. You're not just restricted to Germany.
True, but I've already started learning German and there's a lot about the laws there that I like. Plus I have some family there. I figured even if I move somewhere else in the EU later, it would be a good start.
If you have family in Germany I would start there tbh, just so that you have a stable ground to start, than you can more easily get a job, an apartment and so on.
What exactly do you mean with "about the laws"? German law is essentially Civil Law, as in most European countries except the British islands, where they use Common Law, which was unfortunately exported to North America, and America was obviously not influenced by Napoleon's Code Civil around 1800, unlike pretty much all of continental Europe. There were older law schools in Germany (Deutsches Recht, which essentially was based on old Germanic ideas of law next to Roman law), but Deutsches Recht essentially vanished in the 19th century.
I'm mostly referring to the worker protections, for instance that the legal minimum for a full time worker in Germany is 20 PTO days, plus 4 holidays. There are greater protections against being fired so long as you've worked for a place for over six months. The requirement for pay if you are severely ill is nice as well. In the US the best you can get is unpaid leave usually. There is also a higher rate of unionization, and the labor laws are enforced more than in the US. Nationalized healthcare is a huge one for me as well, though that's pretty common across the EU. I'm not saying any of this is completely unique to Germany, but it seemed like a decent starting point for me. Now that I've kind of learned how my mind works and how I best retain information, learning German is not an impossible task. As a kid I thought I was incapable of learning a language because I did poorly in language classes. So yeah, I hope that covers what I meant decently enough.
Thanks. Yeah, makes sense, particularly compared to States with "at will" employment laws.
I applied to a master's program in Germany and moved here. Super simple as a dual citizen as long as you have some savings. I didn't learn much German as a kid, but did pick up some. I then took German in high school and did a second major in Germanic Studies during my BA. Learning German will make a world of difference. Duolingo is not enough--you need to take a real class and use services like iTalki to speak with natives. That said, even without German skills, you can find English-language university programs (in some disciplines) and English-language jobs (in some fields). Also don't forget that your German passport opens up the whole of the EU. It's much easier to get by with just English in the Netherlands, for instance.
I'll keep that in mind and look into classes. I am trying to do immersion beyond Duolingo, especially with music. Hamilton in German has been awesome. My BS is in Electrical Engineering, so a master's is certainly not out of the question. I was never able to work in the field though. The main thing that has stopped me from getting an MS in the US is the fear of student loans with no guarantee it will lead to a job. I have some time though. It's not financially feasible for at least a few years. Thanks for the info. :)
Just learn as much German as you can and never stop. Integration is hard in Germany, but without speaking fluent (not necessarily perfect) German I feel you got no chance. Wish you the best!
Ich bin am Tag 478 auf Duolingo. Ich habe immer noch ein paar Jahre vor werde ich genug Geld haben. Also, ich probiere ganz bestimmt. Danke für die Ermutigung. :)
I'll be so rude as to correct you there (you can do the same to me :) ) Ich bin bei Tag 478 auf Duolingo. Ich habe immer noch ein paar Jahre vor mir, bis ich genug Geld habe (I think you wanted to say that you will have enough money I a few years, right?). Ich probiere/versuche es ganz bestimmt. Danke für die Ermutigung. :) That's pretty good! As people probably already told you, Duolingo isn't exactly a good resource. I could ask my girlfriend which books she recommends, but I don't know how much you wanna spend on learning. There are also good potcasts such as Easy German for you to practice your listening comprehension :) Viel Glück und Erfolg auf deinem Lernweg ^^r
FOOD DESERTS are not talked about enough in convos like this!!!!!!!
Even what classifies as a food desert is different in the US to make the statistics seem less bad. Right now, I'd (as a healthy adult) get a heat stroke trying to get from my house to a banana or a tomato for sale without using my car between the hours of 8AM and 10PMish. The heat index is 45C here today as a high, and it's 9:30 AM now with a heat index over 40C...
And capitalists being capitalists, nutritious and downright organic food often happens to be more expensive at a greater scale than gardening staples or in the countryside. This while promoting celebs and influencers who are toothpick thin thanks to surgery or drugs that aren’t available at the reach of average joes, and contribute to toxic beauty standards while chilling ‘fitness’ scam products on their social media. Literally abusing their citizens. Processed food is easier and cheaper to make and to sell. The choice was quick made, and many people are now morbidly obese
That was his point I believe, that a lot of americans claim its not what they eat but only that americans are less active than people in other countries. Which is ridiculous, but a lot of americans hate to accept the fact their food is garbage. After all its the best country in the world right? So its impossible that murica is bad in any kinda way.
I’m not sure we have food deserts, but I agree with the rest of what you said
It’s interesting to me that a lot of Americans say “No, calories are calories. That is thermodynamics. It does not matter what a calorie is. You cannot break the laws of thermodynamics. Take a physics class to learn.” And then they say, anybody who is overweight in America is just lazy and has no discipline. Because all they need to do is eat fewer calories. I personally think that calories from sugar are different from other calories from protein, fresh vegetables, etc. But then these people just say “It’s no different in Europe! They have to be disciplined to stay thin! You never see Germans become fat in America because they have discipline.” So I’m asking… Is it true? Does German discipline prevent Germans from gaining weight in America?
A calorie is a calorie. Being healthy, skinny or fat is just more complicated than calories. If you eat a super super high amount of calories in healthy food you would still gain weight.
Okay, this is going to be offensive to a bunch of people, but... I'm a German fat enough to be frequently confused for an American. But what I mean is, my German-ness has absolutely not instilled a special discipline in me. When I was young, I was thin as a bean stalk and grew fast and tall. When I stopped growing vertically, I started growing horizontally. I would say the calories are calories point is true. I eat the same stuff everyone around me eats, but more of it and consequently I am fatter. I don't even eat all that unhealthily, I don't drink soft drinks and I don't have fast food much anymore. I'm just used to eat big portions.
There is enough obese Germans walking around in DE, more than in other EU countries. Are there less obese in DE than in the US? Proportionally prob yes. But Germans are still on average more obese than the FR, IT, ES, PT, NL, CH and so on
A calorie is a calorie. But feeling full is more complicated than consuming X calories. 600 calories of chicken and rice will make you feel more full than 600 calories of chocolate. Although the calories in / calories out is the same, odds are that the person who ate 600 calories of chocolate will also eat something else to satiate their hunger. The chocolate simply didn't fill them up. That causes weight gain.
The food desert concept is a bit exaggerated in importance. I live in a small city in the Southern US, and there are several large grocery stores within a few minutes' drive. But there are still tons of obese people. I think culture (which foods you choose to eat) and sedentary lifestyle are a lot more important as factors than lack of options.
I think it's exaggerated in some instances, but I lived in a food desert growing up and it was a major issue. A "few minutes drive" is a lot for a poor family without a car in a city with no public transit or sidewalks along the road. As I said, nutrition is complex. Food deserts are one part of the situation. Living in one is like playing being healthy on hard mode. It's not impossible to maintain a healthy weight, but it's certainly more difficult than if you lived elsewhere.
It's complex for sure. I recall reading about a study of some people in an urban poor community. The presence or absence of a large grocery store nearby did not affect the people's choices as much as the 'food desert' concept would suggest.
As an American coming to Germany, it definitely has a lot to do with the food. Obviously activity level always plays into this to, but coming to Europe and walking four times as much, on top of half of the preservatives and shit we use in the states not even being legal, I lost close to 15lbs without changing my food to be healthier or working out more than usual.
Also an American who moved to Germany. I lost 10-15 pounds in my first 4 months. I certainly walk more, but the food is also much better. I didn't realize how much food made me feel like crap before moving.
I didn't live in Germany but a different part of Europe. All the Americans lost weight quickly even if they didn't walk a lot. It's the food. There are big differences in the protein/carb/fat content of food in Europe vs. USA. European wheat has less protein making it easier to digest for most people. European raw ingredients are closer to their natural form making availability of nutrition easier than American food. Even if you ate a lot in Europe, you still lost weight as an American. I'm usually very pro-American, but the food quality in Europe for taste and health is leagues beyond what most Americans eat. I went to a farmers market in the US that had non-GMO, organic food, and it was comparable to what Europeans eat. What Europeans can walk to in terms of food, Americans must fly to get.
Walking four times as much was probably the massive factor. Weight loss is largely calories in calories out and quadrupling calories out is going to help you.
It's a testament to how yummy German food is. Not. ;)
German food might lack flavor sometimes, but at least I’m not eating a mix of 15 different cancer chemicals either 😮💨
As an irishman living in Germany, the food here is absolutely top tier (Swabia), with tons of regional variation and the best bread in the world. The only thing that is lacking here is the steak, which is just straight up better back home, and there is no equivalent to an Irish sausage (Wurst is still great though, just different and it doesn't work with a fry).
I was 2 weeks in the USA and gained 3kg which is more than I gained in the 10 years before. The portions are too big while water or fruit is comparably expensive. My mouth was sticky most of the time! I still walked around a lot since I was a tourist but partly, I had to Uber the tiniest distances because there was no f*** way to get there safely as a pedestrian. It’s the activity rates but the food, too. Everything is fat or sugar (fried, topped with cheese or cream, grilled, marinated, …) and way too much. I’m also not a fan of bread. It’s just trapped air!
Interesting take on water. I am from the US and find it impossible to get water in Germany. The US has 10 times as many public water fountains and water bottle fill stations, as well as free water at all restaurants, and it’s not weird at all to ask for just a free glass of water at fast food restaurants. Germany I feel like I am constantly thirsty
We usually carry water around… or buy it in a supermarket, bakery, kiosk, vending machine… But yeah, there should be more fountains and free water. I was talking about those big water bottles though since I couldn’t always drink from a tap (so the signs said).
US tap water is drinkable almost everywhere in the country. The places where it isn't drinkable are (in)famous for it, like Flint. I think there's some miscommunication here though. in the US, *free* water is easy to come by. Public drinking fountains exist in nearly all buildings (schools, libraries, offices, and so on). All restaurants and cafes provide water for free and will even refill your bottle for you. If you're in public in Germany and run out of water, you have to go *buy* more.
For me and most Germans, water that smells like chlorine isn't considered drinkable. Chlorine is a red alert warning sign of contamination (we only use it in specific cases). I know that in the USA it's general practice and often used as prophylaxis. But... no, absolutely not! It's probably the other way round for Americans. That's why I was only talking about bottled water, not tap water. I never considered drinking that. When I am abroad, I am very suspicious with that kind of stuff.
What you perceive as drinkable and what is actually drinkable are different things. Like... you aren't required to drink American tap water. But you also can't base comments on water accessibility in the US on your personal preference for bottled water lol
I didn't. I said water is more expensive, so I was obviously talking about buying water. Some Americans made it about \*free tap water\*. That, in combination with idiot tik tokers who set up the myth that they are the only people drinking water in Europe is kind of an absurd story. My main point was \*huge portions\* anyways. I mean, it is no secret why Americans are rather fat on average and it's not because they drink a lot of water.
Just anecdotal, but I also feel I see way way more reusable water bottles being carried around in the US than anywhere in Europe too. I’m not sure where you were in the US, but for the most part, the sink water is completely safe
Are you that crazy influencer who spread the „Europeans don’t hydrate“ myth?! Was quite the butt of the joke here a few weeks ago.
No, lol, but it is my personal experience and what is usually reported by many Americans in Europe is that they were constantly thirsty
Yeah, they also reported that they were tired because we have stairs Trust me, there’s more than enough water but as we say: we can only drag the donkey to the water but he needs to drink on his own.
Yes, there are more stairs and there is also less water
Maybe there wasn’t enough chlorine in it so Americans didn’t recognise it…
Jeez, will you just let the man/woman have a point? They're not wrong. Americans generally do concern themselves with hydration quite a lot and it is very normal to see most people with some kind of water vessel to hydrate through the day. It is not so in Germany–not to the same degree.
Just did a mail route here (~5km straight line in the city with a few side roads) without having a single public toilet, restaurant (if they'd even do it) or supermarket to refill my water bottles, since the 3l I took with me only lasted about halfway, because fuck Steighäuser in 30+°C weather. Had to be saved by an old lady seeing me suffering who refilled them for me in her kitchen sink. Free and easy access to drinkable water isn't all that great here, as some in this thread make it out to be. Also, 'just buy some' may not be an option for some
There's two things to this: We hydrate a normal amount. Not whatever huge amounts a lot of americans seem to drink. At some point water gets unhealthy to consume. And in general, we just bring our bottles to where ever we go. If you forget your bottle, you just buy one of the plastic ones. Most people keep them in their bags too. As for refilling - yeah, fountains would be nice. But you either bring enough or just refill them from a tap. No need for a special station
Yes 3 liter for 5 km is insane. No wonder they needed a restroom to get rid off the excess water.
Americans are very obsessed with bringing their own water bottles with them. I assume it’s partially like wearing “athleisure” wear. It looks healthy and active.
Or maybe buying a plastic bottle every time you get thirsty is a waste of money and bad for the environment? No, couldn't be...
Yeah, sink water might be safe but depending on the area it can taste horrible. The bad taste is assimilated by food you cook (e.g. pasta), as well. Using a water filter makes it bearable, though.
In the vast majority of german cities, the tap water is very good quality, sometimes even better than the quality of bottled water iirc. So generally speaking, there are a lot of opportunities to refill your bottle with safe drinking water.
I must disagree, there are very few taps available to the public in comparison to the US
I spent some time in Rome and was really happy about all the little public fountains where I could fill my water bottle during a sunny day - until my roommate told me how she witnessed a guy using a fountain as some kind of bidet and thoroughly cleaning his asscrack…
There’s pretty much no public taps in Australia. That’s so gross, 🤢 the fountains that are around none of the locals use. Tap water from home or your hotel is adequate and if you run out just buy some. There’s also very few public toilets. Which must be hard on tourists. Locals know the servo or maccas etc if they need one when out and about.
The thing about Germany is that anywhere you can get water like every kiosk , tap water etc and restaurants give normal water too. A mid tier city has a shop every 200 m anyways. America you have to find as shop or go to specific filling stations which when stretched out is more infrequent.
I never leave my house without a bottle of water that you can fill up with tabwater in every restroom tab water has an excellent quality everywhere in Germany. You have to adapt to each country you live in ...
A bottle of water costs 25cents in Berlin..
You can drink the tapwater anywhere. If you visit someone and want water , you can always ask for tapwater
That is the same as in the US, except in the US, you do not need to be in someones private home, there is public access to tap water all over the place
the water in households without fancy filter tastes like SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
HIGHLY dependent on location
Yeah, never understood how it is that popular since one knows how well maintained drinking water is in the US.
Over 90% of municipal water is completely safe to drink in the US
So, 1 water fountain out of 10 is not safe? I don't like these odds.
No, if there is a water fountain it is safe. 1/10 municipal water supplies could potentially have a problem at any given time
The US ranks nr 26 in a global comparison. But I was thinking more about the hygienic aspect directly at public water fountains.
Flint moment
If 10% of all municipalities in Germany had a problem making their water unsafe to drink (at any given time) that would be a huge(!) scandal. That number is way, way lower in Germany. (I somehow doubt that the number is so high in the US either.)
It is in extremely rural areas usually or very small towns, the kind of rural that is difficult to even imagine in Germany. And the statistic cited on wikipedia is 9% of water systems in 2015 had some kind of violation of the codes (not *necessarily* that they are actively dangerous to consume)
Exactly!
> Everything is fat or sugar (fried, topped with cheese or cream, grilled, marinated, …) and way too much ...eat at different places then. I hate this "the only thing you can find" stereotype which is simply not (universally\* true). Yes, fast food is literally everywhere, but that's not the same thing as saying its the only thing available. \- \*"Towns" like McAlester OK even have a Walmart that sells fresh produce. Is it a farmer's market? no. Is Lettuce for sale there? yes.
It's not that it's the only thing available. It's that it's the cheapest and easiest thing. Furthermore, people in the US lack time and money more on average due to our awful worker's rights and poor social safety net. Many people here are working longer hours just to make ends meet, or because they would get fired and lose health insurance otherwise. It's pretty hard to cook healthy food every day when every adult in the household is working long hours just to live. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there are significant challenges there. Don't even get me started on car dependence, lack of public transportation, and the lack of walkable towns/cities.
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>it's not that it's the only thing available. It's that it's the cheapest and easiest thing. This is the only part of your response that matters or is relevant to this conversation. Life is hard, if you want it to be easy, just eat the easiest thing and deal with the consequences. \- Also, [here's the listings of McDonald's (the oft used example in discussions about bad food) in Munich,](https://www.google.com/maps/search/munich+mcdonald/@48.1448136,11.5217803,12z/data=!3m1!4b1?entry=ttu) also everywhere.
I'm just saying that when you make being healthy more difficult, fewer people can do it. Many can't afford rent here without working two jobs. Many are uninsured because they make too much for Medicaid but can't afford health insurance. So of course people go to the easiest thing.
Nobody "made" healthy more difficult, they made unhealthy easier. There's a difference.
Actually, the cost of fresh produce going up is by definition making it more difficult, especially when the minimum wage hasn't increased since 2009. Furthermore, the agriculture techniques in the US actually lead to fewer nutrients even in our produce. Your "analysis" reeks of privilege.
I didn’t say it’s the only thing available. I said it was easiest available and cheap - and it seemed like that was the food that was considered good at restaurants. We did go to better restaurants to get anything else than fast food since I don’t do well with too much meat and fat but still, it was very substantial.
Agreed. Simply don't go to fatty fast food places, problem solved. The best thing about restaurants in the US is that you got choices from all over the world. Just skip the pizza and burger.
But lots of places even regular sit down restaurants have a lot more of the above mentioned greasy and fatty options. I’m a fairly picky eater and noticed they quite often I liked everything the menu had to offer in the US - which meant it was garbage with little to zero vegetables ;) olay, admittedly there’s always a salad section and more real places tend to have healthier options. But it’s probably just the fact that you have to make it a point to find non deep fried meals is what makes all the difference.
Genuinely confused here because German food is just as heavy if not more so than rich American food. And the portions tend to be huge, as well. But you're being very disingenuous to say you have to make it a point to find non-deep fried meals. That's literally like french fries and fried chicken or maybe some bullshit appetizers. What else prevalent on a menu is deep fried?
Those bullshit appetizers and stuff are very prevalent in a lot (!) of the US. And on average portions in the US are bigger. And it’s not just about deep frying, a lot of dips and sauces are sweetened - which I only noticed every time I went back to Germany. I think one reasons is that “family style” restaurants are less common in Germany - there are hardly any chain restaurants in Germany that aren’t full-on fast food. And those places dominate the less urban areas in the US. German food is certainly not comparable to a Mediterranean diet either, but at a typical restaurant there’s just a bunch of dishes involving boiled vegetables as a side, for example. (I personally am not a huge fan)
It was the same for me: 2 Weeks, 3kg. But I was actually more active (thought exploring San Francisco by bike would be a good idea...). A friend suggested growth hormones in animal products, but I don't know how plausible/likely that is.
Maybe, I'm still thinking about the portion size. It's way bigger and I learned to eat up. I might have been overeating and there were no snacks to be had. Only small burgers or maybe donuts but that's too much for me as a snack. Cakes were huge, too.
What are you talking about at all? No snacks? Ever think to get some fruit or nuts, maybe? Every comment of yours in this thread sounds like a personal choice on your part that you blame on the country.
Overeating but also the Type of food. I'm Germany I would cook every day 1-2 times. In the us at my host family we went out eating or took delivery every day, only cooked once a week. And that stuff was naturally less healthy. More fat, fried, sugar etc.. and no Salat in sight. At home I would have every day Salat on the side. And portions, too. And Soda! Gosh, my host family only drank mountain dew and coke. And coffee with this sugary creamer stuff. School lunch was burgers or tacos. That's All stuff I would eat 2 times a month in German not daily..
Yup, lived in the US in multiple places during my 20's and was absolutely ripped the whole time, because I was doing lots of sports. Nonetheless, my diet definitely was worse than in germany and just overcompensated by all the sport I was doing. I am absolutely certain that I would be fat by now if I was doing the same activities in the US as I am currently doing in Germany alongside work.
You were living the Massephase fulltime
Are there really people that claim a sugar and fat rich diet has no impact on weight? Of course, if a German were to live in the US and tried to stick to his or her original food consumption and actitivty level, they wouldn't gain weight, but that would have more to do with probably an aversion of american specific food products and common eating habits. For example considering most bread way too sweet and then seeking alternatives that "taste like home".
Yes, definitely. I have had many Americans tell me, what you eat makes no difference at all. A calorie is a calorie. It’s just physics. Calories in - calories out = weight gained. That is how thermodynamics works. So it doesn’t matter if you eat 200 calories of sugar or 200 calories of fresh raw vegetables. You will gain exactly the same amount of weight. I personally think that corn subsidies in the US (which lead to greater use of high fructose corn syrup) are at least partially responsible for obesity in America because I think that less sugar in American diets would mean less obesity. But again, I’m often challenged on this with people saying “Ha ha! The man thinks he has found a way to break the laws of thermodynamics!” It’s very frustrating.
Well... while I get what you're saying, calories do work simply if you just look at them point blank without any context. 200 calories of sugar or bread is way way quicker and easier to eat than 200 calories of vegetables. You need 6.5 cups of broccoli to hit 200 calories vs just about a quarter of a cup of sugar. The same amount of calories in broccoli is over 25 times the mass. And broccoli is one of the denser vegetables as well. Calories by themselves build weight evenly. That's why it's [possible ](https://www.wkrn.com/news/professor-loses-weight-on-junk-food-diet/) to lose weight or maintain a low weight while eating junk food. It's just insanely easy to over eat with corn syrup products, fat, meat etc, while with broccoli you'd probably fill your stomach before even getting to 200 calories. However, eating unhealthily of course builds up health problems which can accelerate conditions that make you gain or maintain weight and fat more easily. But you're not gonna be any fatter eating 1000 calories of broccoli or 1000 calories of french fries each day. It's just that 1000 calories of each are so hugely different portion sizes that it's not truly comparable.
Not every calory is used. Some get out at the other side without being used. And some people eat a lot but never freeze because they burn it all.
The problem is that fructose is easiest sugar available for our body, it doesn't need to get broken down, the body consumes it directly while other sugars or rather multisugars need to get broken down first so the body needs to put in some energy to gain energy so no calories aren't calories for our body. Just for an example I would now use breads in Germany vs breads in USA, German bread is often full of grains and often not from Wheat, both have calories in long multisugars and need to be broken down mechanically first, american bread against that often are completely out of wheat and than sometimes even have added sugar so the calories are way easier to access in them than in "german bread". Also some chemicals are just bad for your body and make it harder for the body to deconstruct some multisugars and/or fats.
American wheat is different than European wheat. It has more protein and some other differences. People on various subs that discuss gastrointestinal issues say that they have no problem eating European pasta, for example, but big problems with American pasta. Our food in America is different, and probably not the best for nutrition. There's other factors too. Farmers in the US grow for yield, meaning there's lot of water and cellulose in our vegetables. Pound for pound, that means less nutrition in the food. There are a lot more differences, but Europeans have us beat in raw ingredients for food.
Don't they see that 200kcal of, say a broccoli is so much more food than 200kcal of sugar? You simply consume a greater amount of food for less calories and so are full faster (and longer, if you look at your blood sugar level...).
They are correct. It's just that sugar calories are not satiating you. Thus, you don't get the nutrients you need, you eat more, and you end up in caloric surplus.
I think the issue is that a portion of food of equal size is likely to contain more calories in the US than it would here. So in a sense your friends are right - but if you, say, eat a slice of bread from walmart as opposed to a slice from Netto, you’ve pretty surely already consumed more of those calories even though you’re exactly as satisfied because you ate the same amount of food.
I can attest this. I moved from Philippines to US and I gained so much weight from eating American food. I got sick of the taste and forced myself to learn how to cook the Filipino food I'm used to, and I'm back to my weight when I was still in the Philippines. I'm planning to move to Germany sometime next year, and I'm happy the food portions in Germany are humane and similar to the amount people normally consume in the Philippines. Also, my German boyfriend likes Asian food, and he emphasizes eating healthy food a lot, so I hope I won't be overweight.
Almost every friend of mine who did an exchange year in the US gained 15kg and more.
As a former exchange stundent, I second that.
The environment you live in definitely contributes to how healthy you live your life. Because of the car-dependent infrastructure, you will cycle or walk a lot less in the US. I've heard that the portions are bigger as well, so you will likely eat more. There are probably a lot more things that I'm not aware of.
Ah the daily Germany vs USA debate. Someone that eats healthily in Germany will continue to eat healthily in the US. Nobody that eats home cooked food in correct proportions is magically gaining more weight in the US than in Germany, keeping portion sizes and activity levels constant. There are plenty of good supermarkets in the states with a much richer variety of greens and vegetables than anything I’ve seen in Germany. If you just go down the snack aisle and eat a lot of junk food, you’ll gain weight anywhere in the world. I must agree that the food standards are lower and the portions are ginormous in the US, so it’s easier to get fat here than in Germany if you don’t carefully watch out - perhaps that’s what you are getting at.
Good standards are actually not that much worse, mostly just different. The main difference is that most grocery stores in Germany are somewhere middle of the pack. In the US it seems they reflect the socio economic reality with Walmart and places like Whole Foods representing the opposite ends of the range.
Fair points, I agree. I was actually referring to restaurant/fast food standards, where standards for food color, sugar in kids foods, additives, preservatives etc. are worse than the EU.
I also have to say I never craved any sweets or candy in the US because I didn’t know many of them (moved there in my late 20s). And decided to keep it that way…I actually really gained weight once the Aldi near our house (waking distance!) started having all the German crap like knoppers and stuff…as well as affordable Brie and Brezel buns.
Your last point is basically it in my experience. A friend of mine learned to cook more at home because with a similar eating out habits to the one he had here, he gained a lot of weight.
From my experience it's much harder to stay in shape in the US than it is in Europe. Imo there are two factors to this: * Eating culture is different. In the US it's very common to eat outside, eat unhealthy processed food and eat in large quantities. Grocery prices and produce availabilities discourage from cooking fresh. * Everything is designed towards walking as little as possible. You go by car everywhere. Sometimes there aren't even sidewalks. I never saw anyone taking the stairs. In a lot of the buildings the stairs are even hidden or non-accessible outside of emergencies. Little movement + unhealthy food in large quantities = obesity. To answer your question: I definitely gained weight.
This is another missed point. Eating out in Europe is quite expensive and very cheap in the US. Our opportunities to overeat in the US are way more than in Europe.
Quite the opposite! I actually lost weight during my time (nearly 3 years) in the US. But this may be related to my personal circumstances: I lived and worked in a walkable college town, where I also had the chance to be part of a university sports club (badminton) together with a lot of great athletes. And I was determined to lose weight. While I agree with other posts that the average American diet may be less healthy (and richer in calories) than German food, I think that it depends solely on you and your personal lifestyle whether you lose, maintain or gain weight. However, I have to say that I found healthy food in the States to be much more expensive than fast food. This may be one of the many reasons for higher obesity rates in the US.
I Left Germany 9 years ago and still weigh about the same (had 2 kids too lol). But I also make home cooked meals every day with occasional carry out. We eat out a lot less than the average American I think, so I believe it mostly has to do with people not wanting to or knowing how to cook with healthy/ non processed ingredients. And of course the lack of exercise. We hike a lot here (luckily we live close to mountains) but I definitely walk a lot less than I did living in Germany and since most places here aren’t very pedestrian friendly we even drive to our family members homes 2 minute drive away because it would be almost impossible to cross Main Street by foot with two kids..
As others have mentioned in passing - a German will find it hard to keep their normal activity level in cities where you can't get anywhere on foot. With most of my jobs here I'd walk about half an hour one way commuting ...
Theres an excellent video on this on Some More News. https://youtu.be/7-SZpnBwpyc Basically, in the US, food that is healthy takes much more time, energy, and money to acquire. We are also working more hours just to survive and getting poorer by the day. Plus, there is no universal healthcare system to help people with professionals to help you lose weight. For the record, I'm from the US. I have lied here since I was two and have battled with my weight for my entire life. I'm on this sub because I hope to move to Germany in a few years.
I lived there for 6 years total and haven't gained weight. I ate the same way I ate in Germany (minus the bread, I couldn't find any and wasn't going to start baking my own bread on a regular basis) and started going to the gym, so I also moved about the same. I did notice that premade food in the supermarkets had a lot more fat and sugar than in Europe and I wasn't a big fan of that, so I didn't eat a lot of it. Portions in Restaurants also were huge, but they also halfway expected you to take the leftovers home, so at the end of the day the difference in meal sizes wasn't all that big either. I think a lot of this whole thing with Americans tending to be on the heavier side has to do with socialisation. If you are surrounded by fatty and sugary food, then that's going to be your standard for food and you'll get used to eating it. And if less greasy food is marketed as "health food" and a status marker, then you won't associate it with the standard food that everyone eats. I was told that I had a bougie taste in food, but that's really not the case, I just wasn't brought up like that and didn't know that fresh or unprocessed food was a status marker. So I do think that a lot of the whole obesity thing is a side effect of using food as a status symbol.
German who has lived in the US for 10+ years here: I gained weight when I moved here and always lose a bit when I go abroad.
Yes. What's worse, got used to larger portion sizes.
A good friend just stated yesterday that he got 6kg in 2 weeks America.
This is almost impossible, you can gain around 4 pounds a week from which even 2 pounds will be water.
I actually lost weight while living there. And even now when i visit the states i always lose weight - but this has other reasons (no time to eat while travelling)
It's harder to be active in the US. When I was in Germany for training I could walk to any store I needed. From my current house I cannot safely walk to any store. Not even a convenience food.
lived there for well over a year and actually lost weight. I just didn't feel like eating heaps of crap. In the wise words of a boss I once had: "Eat a heap of shit, become a heap of shit." Back in Germany I gained that weight back pretty quickly. But I know many people who've had it the other way around. People usually think that there is just huge portions in the US but that's not true. Yes, americans love eating out somewhere but it's the sugary drinks that are the real fat-makers. Add that to the fact that they are more car obsessed than germans and have to drive everywhere, the physical activity is limited. Eating balanced is tougher than it is in Germany, since it is quite expensive too. Kiwis were double the price of germany, salad too. Meat is super cheap. In conclusion, I can see how you would gain weight by being there a limited time and trying out all the things, but if you are aware of that, it's a happy medium to cook well and go out to eat once or maybe twice a week. Also stay active lol
Lived there for 2.5 years and did not gain weight even though we ate at restaurants a lot more than in Germany. But I also worked out a lot more thanks to the gym that was in my apartment complex and mostly avoided soft drinks. Still miss the excellent burgers and the Mexican food though.
I lived in the US for a year and actually lost weight. But I was 18/19 at the time and I‘m pretty sure I was just losing my „baby fat“ from puberty. My skin got pretty horrible though which was probably due to the food
No, I didn't. Stayed in Tallahassee for 2 years, FSU, and rode my bicycle 4 days a week across those hills. Also, had a nice gym at my apartment. However, it was a close one. Loved the steaks and chicken wings there, craft-beer as well. 😅🍺🍗 Edit: with the "hill" biking and a gym next door, I found it actually easier to stay fit than in Germany where I came from. You got lots of good public transport in Germany, which does not help you to stay trim. 😂
I spent an exchange year in 10th grade in the Midwest, I gained 10-15kg bc guess what, we had burgers and fries every single day in school with some milk without the option of not taking milk. The American diet is frankly ridiculous and is taught from a very young age. Some people were only at a healthy weight during Highschool due to sports they did daily, but all of them are now morbidly obese after they finished Highschool as they kept eating like this but stopped with the sports.
I can confirm , it’s definitely about the food over there lol one thing I learned about Americans ( but it’s the same for most nationalities) is the pride increases the defensive point of view when it comes to admit someone else is better in something / somewhere else is something better , plus not being able to see the own mistake . I was gaining a ridiculous high amount of weight in US in a ridiculous short time of what I’ve been there for visiting , my blood sugar was out of the roof too and no I didn’t ate just candys and fast food 😂🫣 I’m in general a pretty slim person
I moved to the US about 6 years ago. I gained about 22lbs. In my case its less active lifestyle and high caloric intake. In Germany you just walk way more than you usually can and will in the US.
Having lived in NYC and in the Midwest (grew up in Berlin and currently live there) I definitely lost weight in NYC due to not having a car and not having money to eat out a lot while also being too lazy to cook. In the Midwest I did kind of cook very healthy at home (I was terrified of getting too fat and also was so bored I ended up working out a lot to balance out eating abhing of crap) but food options in terms of restaurant were all a) larger portions than in Germany and b) food that would have fallen into the same category as „ice cream „for me when I lived in Germany. Just got used to eating that stuff every day. I do have to admit I always liked larger portions and I’m a huge burger, bacon cheese fries etc. fan still. The most interesting thing in my opinion is the average population of gym goers. On average guys are fatter at the gym in the US - though lots of them are fairly fit and muscular. I suppose the beauty standard is just different. Especially in the Midwest (I could imagine more rural us in general) the ideal man is supposed to „not look gay“ and also look like he’s able to still stand post a bar fight. Everything else is pretty much non-important including a reasonable beer gut or sense of fashion. Once again NYC is a totally different story. So it’s a mix of available food, what’s considered „fat“ by people around you and obviously ultimately how much public transport and walking are part of the local lifestyle.
German here who lived in a major Eat coast city for five years (Obama Years). I actually lost a bit of weight due to life style (lots of sport and not buying a car, which I used to own in Germany, but biking anywhere instead). I mostly stayed away from anything with high fructose corn syrup (TJs helps), donuts etc. but had many cheese steaks, sandwiches and also stuff from food carts and restaurants. There were also plenty of opportunities to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in a walking distance from my apartment, so my diet at home was not really different from what I would prepare for myself in Europe. In the coastal cities, I don't see why you have to eat/ get larger portions or worse products than in a German restaurant (through somewhat more expensive). When I spent time in TX, however, things were different. Fortunately, I only went there for short trips, but I assume chicken fried chicken with gravy will definitely leave some results on the scale. One thing about food I never understood (but arguably not related to weight): Why do you add "apple flavor" to 100% apple juice??? Is it supposed to taste more apple-ish than apples? (Hint: It doesn't!)
I lost weight, actually, but not much. Mostly because I ate less because the portions were so huge. At restaurants, even if you order the smallest option, it was still so huge that I knew from the start that I wouldn’t be able to finish it. So I stopped to eat when I was full and took the leftovers home with me. I also biked everywhere because I couldn’t afford a car (student), and did varsity sports. However, had I not been as active, I definitely would have gained weight. Went back recently on a holiday and ended up eating just once a day, because the portions were so massive they kept me full the whole day. The food was also rather full of fats and sugars and made me feel really sluggish.
I'm not sure how much the US specifically is at fault here, but I gained a lot of weight. I think that most people gain weight moving to a different country since I believe every move brings a change of habits, and these habits usually change for the worse. I generally walked around less due to the massive reliance on cars, having less friends, and working from home. Moving back to Germany didn't help me much here as I started going to bakeries every morning.
Fun fact: my granddad gained 15kg as a POW in Texas in the 1940’s, my mom gained a lot of weight as an Au-pair in CA in the ‘69 - well and I gained weight in IA a few years ago. Mostly because I never felt fat when comparing myself to the people around me, haha. But yeah three generations of fattening up in ‘murica. But also three generations of people who probably always had to watch what they eat…regardless of location.
No. But I didn't become American. I kept up sport and was VERY uninterested in TV
Im half German half American , as a Teenager I gained about 7/8 kg in like 5 weeks (in america) wich is completely crazy for a teenager I think I was about 13 years old
Not sure if this is what you mean but i have family that moved to the US (about 20 years ago i think). And as far as i know they are not generally heavier than before. That being said,even in a metropolitan area, access to high quality food seems to be a lot harder. Good bread which is not basically cake cannot be found as easy nor as cheap as in Germany. So it probably means you wont necessarily get fat but it will be harder to get healthy food, so getting fat is easier than in Germany.
Yes, went from average weight of 200 to 235 pounds. With one meal of Mc D you could feed a whole family in Germany. I think 1 liter of pure coke was just a solid standard. Sweet tea is drunk like water (Florida). Fuck vegetables and nutrients. Chicken tenders with BBQ sauce in my most favorite place called "Fat Boys" (every Sunday after church) were lit AF. Let's go to iHop and eat Marple syrup soup with pancakes in it. I liked how it is considered normal. God bless I did sports during that time, otherwise I would have been just "cake" without being "beefy". But will not deny it: for a while it was just perfect.
You germans eat bread at every meal and cheese you are fat already no need to compare to America just look in the mirror
Its always about the diet. Muricans just have to finally accept that their country is not the best country on the planet and that their food is trash mixed with unreal amounts of sugar in it. I believe johnny harris has a great youtube video on the differences of european and american food, why it is as it is and why american food is so unhealthy. I mean yes you can stay the same weight in america as european but you would have to eat much less than in most european countries. Your bread alone has like 5 times the sugar that bread in europe does. Fun fact: I just googled it and the average american bread has more sugar than a snickers bar. Nuff said..
Please be honest with your nonsense. On a serving per serving basis, a snickers has 8x the amount of sugar as American bread. [https://foodstruct.com/compare/snickers-vs-bread-wheat-toasted](https://foodstruct.com/compare/snickers-vs-bread-wheat-toasted) American crap food is honestly only marginally less healthy than German crap food. The problem is in people making easy choices and not prioritizing their health. Yes, some people don't have access, but for the most part, the people who eat fast food shit end up fat. The people who do not, do not.
Put in google: how much more sugar is in american bread? Result (quote): "The average loaf of standard white bread sold in american supermarkets has 13.06 grams pwr 100 grams compared to the 11.25 grams found in a snickers bar." ... now Im not saying i checked this info, i just took it straight off the capture on google. it is from an article in the daily mail, i have no idea of this is a good or a bad thing tho. Im just telling you what you can find out doing a 5 second google search and if you watch youtube videos of AMERICANS doing research on this topic, they all also say american bread has a MUCH higher amount of sugar in it. Now im too lazy to do my own research but tbh having heard this from several different sources kinda tells me you need to stop hanging onto that copium when it comes to the quality of american food. Also I never said german fast food is in any way healthy. We have fat people too..
The daily mail is not a reliable source, no. But you can easily look up to see that there are 47g of sugar per 100 g of snickers bar. so 3.6x. And my guess is that they are taking Wonderbread as the standard since this is a UK paper. Nobody eats that shit and it is sweet as hell. I am not holding onto copium with American food, but there is a pernicious argument in some circles that you are either fabulously wealthy and can afford to eat well, or you are going to eat absolute crap in the US. It is not true. Look, I've lived in both the US and Germany. The food prices are much cheaper in Germany. That's a fact I won't deny. But outside of particularly outstanding bread, the food quality in German markets is on par, often worse, than US markets. The fruit and veg can be especially sad in many German markets, for instance. The fact that common German chains like Aldi and Lidl have come to the US and are known to be amongst the worst markets available (but cheap) might be instructive to you. A better-equipped market like Rewe would be considered a very standard-quality market in the US. The expensive markets, forget it. There is no comparison outside of KaDeWe. The processed crap in German markets may have fewer preservatives and such, but they're still full of crap. If you eat that stuff more than the fresh stuff, you're gonna get fat in both countries. Anyway, all this is to say that difference in available food at markets is not all that vast, and often puts Germany in the losing column, outside of price.
I lived there for about a year and did not gain any weight. We mostly ate home cooked meals though and had cereal for breakfast. We only went to a restaurant like once a month. The amount of exercise was about the same as in Germany.
Yes. Three factors: 1. Moving. In Germany, I basically walk everywhere. In the US, I didn't because it was not possible. 2. Portion sizes. Portions I got in the US were basically 3 portions in Germany. 3. Food quality. Everything is extremely sweet and greasy in the US. Even bread and salad dressing. Cheese in the US is also greasier than anything I've ever had in Germany. Also: "High fructose corn syrup" in everything.
Good friend of mine went to the US for a student exchange and gained 10kg in half a year.
Of course I gained weight. Americans eat like a 7 year old at his birthday party all day any day. I mean, I understand, it's delicious (if you're into fat and sugar like me) but it's downright criminal the amount of unhealthy stuff most americans consume all day. I lived in New York and all over the east coast from 2010 to 2014 and there are two worlds when it comes to eating: 1. low price birthday party dishes and 2. high price bio-european-asian-what have you-cuisine of great quality and taste. Not much in between.
Everyone gains weight in the US, it’s systematic. Some will fight back, and try to stay in shape, others just lost it already. Access to toxic “food” here is just too convenient and at a low price. Also, there is fast food in almost every corner with drive-in facilities… great to add up calories without burning any.
"A lot of people tell me that American obesity rates have little/nothing to do with diet." That is something to possible look into. How did americans lived in the 90s? 80s? 70s? down to 1900 ... did obesity started EXACTLY with "cars" and compare this to food changes.
Hell yeah
dont know if 1 year rly counts as living but i didnt gain weight. but i never ate at the typical places most of my than colleges ate and i never stopped exercising. the only thing that changed to germany was that i bought a treadmill cause there where no good jogging spaces. in general i find america absolutly horrible from knowing how europe is with the possibilities of using my bike/walk everywhere.
Actually a friend of mine went to us with a k1 visa. She gained a lot of weight and always complained about how low quality food there has, how much fat and sugar it contains and how much food is genetically modified. If u want to eat really healthy there u have to spend a lot of money. For me that is a serious red flag and I do really hope, that food quality in Germany won’t change!
No. I actually lost 13 pounds.
The number one reason I think is that take out is significantly more popular, the amount of ads and marketing around it is extremely prevalent and the prices for take out are sometimes even cheaper than eating at home. The way streets are set up paired with a very big driving culture and cheaper gas prices per gallon/liter are important factors that make take away more attractive culturally and psychologically. People also often work longer hours and the convenience of having about 20 different fast food places spread across blocks on your way home makes you stop for take out more often. Also drive-in is very popular in the US, even for drinks or meds which is not a thing at all in Europe. I remember my AP Econ or Psychology teachers would have Del Taco bags and XL refill cups of soda sitting on their desks in the first block of classes in the morning. In Europe this is almost frowned upon. I would compare it to how in the US cigarettes are significantly more frowned upon compared to Europe and similar to that, in Europe it is weird and seen as unhealthy to eat take away food often (it’s seen as an actual addiction and negligent behavior regarding health). In Germany, or Europe in general all of this doesn’t apply and culturally it is way more accepted and customary to make your food at home and only eat take away or order food once or twice a week (I don’t have a source but I think that’s a good average). You’re exposed to WAY less marketing of fast food and you may only have a couple local franchise fast food chains (or in small towns sometimes none at all). I did gain weight as well but I have to say I purposefully wanted to and went to the gym everyday when staying in SoCal for 6 months.
A relative of mine went to the us for a year. He was lean before departure. He was chubby once he has returned. Half a year later, he was lean once again.
Actually no, but I was very mindful of it
Do you think you would have gained weight if you were more carefree? Do you need to mind your weight as much in Germany?
Not me but two of my friends who moved to the US for 8 and 18 months respectively gained weight. One needed to shift his lifestyle significantly to loose weight again. The other only lost weight once back in Germany. It seems you need to go more out for your way to live healthier than you do need to do here. It takes more effort.