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I've read a couple of stories recently about Europeans visiting the USA, staying with friends or families in residential areas, and going for a walk around to see what everything looks like and also just to go for a walk. Only to be stopped by police because somebody has phoned to report somebody walking suspiciously around for no reason.

To quote “Not Just Bikes”, The US wasn’t build for the car, it was bulldozed for the car..

According to a Lidl executive, the reason their initial entry into the US was unsuccessful is because they did not understand the American palette. He summarised it as follows: "When we make our chocolate bars in Germany we put one teaspoon of sugar and in the UK we put two teaspoons of sugar. It turns out that in the US we need to put four teaspoons of sugar into our chocolate or otherwise people will not buy it"

I am from germany and my husband is from the US. And even before watching this video i can say that it has to do mostly with the price of healthy food. Here in germany all the healthy things like vegetables and fruits are incredibly cheap (and regulated thanks to the EU) while stuff like McDonalds or other fastfood is always really expensive and seen as a luxury by the germans.

You perfectly summarized the key aspects 👍👍👍 Two remarks: What Americans call bread would be toast in Germany, German bread is very uncommon in the US. And a funny story: 20 years ago my then wife and me visited the US and Canada and went to the rocky mountains. We stopped at a nice place and decided to walk up to the top of a small mountain. We were almost the only hikers, except another couple. When we finally met on top of the mountain and started a small talk, it turned out that they also were from Germany 😂

I worked for an international institute in Austria for 15 years. There were a lot of excellent US scientists coming and going. They were either extremely sportive and fit or very fat. After a couple of months literally all fat ones dropped much of their weight just by eating the Austrian food and commuting without a car.

I'm from the US and moved to Europe in my 20s, have lived in Greece for almost 20 years now, and the differences in lifestyle really add up. I actually had a very healthy lifestyle in the US and was STILL overweight! But here in Greece I am so much healthier and happier. Here are some of the things that I personally think contribute: - gasoline is insanely expensive here to the point that a lot of people straight up cannot afford to drive places (this includes me) - produce is relatively cheap compared to a lot of worse foods, and it's culturally normalized to purchase huge quantities of produce. Go to the farmers market and get 4 kg of lemons and no one bats an eye, they don't ask if you're making marmalade or whatever. It's just this week's lemons. - too many people smoke still. - clothes in large sizes are hard to find, and people don't tend to buy clothes often, so there's a subtle pressure to stay the same size - a lot of our vacations are based around athletic things (swimming in the sea, skiing) - in the same vein, those of us who live by the coast, which is a huge % of us, are in a swimsuit in public a ton. - there's MUCH less pressure placed on the individual to be "the best" at things, so it's perfectly normal to be the sort of person who goes to the gym for half an hour 2x/week, whereas in the US it feels like everything is about constantly improving and being the best, and #2 is the first loser, which is very demotivating for most people and a lot of people just quit when they realize they're not going to be elite. - most people grew up on, and still really like, staples like lentil soup, green beans as a main dish, etc. - it's normal to buy bread from the local bakery, not to buy bread that is shelf stable (at least not as much of it) - people actually understand seasonality in food and aren't trying to buy grapes in March, which leads to people not getting the wrong idea that fruits and vegetables are expensive. - olive oil keeps people fuller longer - health care is ridiculously good compared to the US. My doctors here actually notice when I'm having health issues and intervene. - parking is horrendous and people will do a lot to avoid needing to do it, including walking. But even if you do park, then you still have to walk really far because you parked 10 blocks away because parking lots barely exist here. - all the EU regulations apply. They can't put crap in the food. - it's very trendy to eat healthy. I'm in the food service industry and people seek out organic, local, vegan, etc. Even people you might not expect. Especially new moms do this but so do college students. - discrimination in hiring is widespread, and everyone knows that being attractive is a major boost to getting a job. Plenty of jobs are pretty much only available to slim, attractive young people. - military service is mandatory for almost all men so they get a little boost in terms of physical activity at an age where American men often get extra sedentary I live on a small island, population about 25,000 people, and I have never seen a truly obese (US-type) person here. Even the tourists aren't. Most people here are like 10 lbs overweight. I've noticed this about Greece: there's a lot of hand-wringing over our obesity epidemic, but it's a huge number of people who are like 180 lbs in the 55+ age range. You never see people over 400 lbs here. I have noticed a growing trend of young people being overweight though in the past 10-15 years. But still nothing like US sizes.

This was an awesome video. I’m a Canadian who lived in Serbia for nearly a decade. Most people were slim, even though they have a bakery every 500 feet and also drink a lot of beer lol. The food was much better quality, and almost everyone rode their bike daily and walked. I was much healthier/fitter when I lived there.

What also never fails to startle me as a German are American recipes. One time I made an american-style strawberry cheesecake and only used 1/4 of the amount of sugar it told me to use. The cake was still sweet as hell. How is american food even considered edible?? It‘s beyond me

One of my favorite stories regarding walking: Coming from Germany I was with my (now ex-)girlfriend in NewYork. We looked for a certain location but could not find it and as this was before iPhone, we just asked someone on the street. The person explained how to get there, it was like a couple of blocks away. (can't remember exactly) We said: "Thanks" and startet to walk in the direction. The person we asked quickly said: "No, no, you can not walk, you need to take a cab!" "Why? we asked. Maybe a dangerous neighborhood. But the person said: "It's too far!" We walked - it took us like 15 minutes or so.

I am in Germany for a month and as a older and overweight American I see all these lifestyle differences in Hamburg. And Hamburg is a big city(1.9 million) There no gallon containers of milk in the stores here. All of the grocery stores I have been to have no parking lot, so most of the people going there walked. I made a comment to my family that I see women riding their bikes to work in dresses. When was the last time you saw an American woman riding a bike in a dress? HALF said that 48% of US families had bikes but what percentage of those bikes were for adults. Probably a much, much, smaller percentage.

During my exchange year in the US I gained almost 10kg and I swear, I didn't eat more volume wise. But everything was so sugary and full of fat. I never eat vegetables with sugar and butter. And when I came back, everything tasted bland. My guest family didn't even ate that much fast food, but their cooking culture is just very different in general. But there seems to be a trend to eat healthier, at least when I went last year to visit my guest family there were more resturants with alot healthier options and organic groceries stores. Also Aldi is pretty close to their german originals, meaning they mostly have german standards for foods they sell. A huge win in my eyes. Also Starbucks is a crime to humanity. Some of their drinks have more kcal than two full meals and enough sugar to start a riot in any daycare.

It took me a while to figure out but as a german, watching fitness and nutrition tips online can be confusing, especially when it comes from Americans. Very often you hear tips to cut out bread and carbs in general. This made little sense to me since I eat lots of carbs every day and dont gain weight anyway. That's until you find out that american "bread" would barely pass as white toast sugar sponge in Germany and a lot of the other foods may be drastically different too. More fats, more sugar, more additives. The weirdest stuff I've seen is like a litre of egg white only...like why would you skip the yolk and only slurp the boring part? Thats nasty. Another thing is the coloring of foods. European food looks desaturaed compared to the neon-colored cereals, snacks and even pickled veggies are a glowing green. But Americans look at natural foods and think it's gone bad.

I walk at least 1 hour a day just by walking to the office and back 🙂 Not only is it healthy for my body and environmentaly friendly, but it is also very relaxing and good for my mental health. Any distance that I can walk in less than 40 minutes I consider a short walk. Greetings from Northern Germany

I really love that your content evolved from pointing out stereotypes and an overview of culture into source based and well researched discussion of core differences between europe/germany and the us. keep it up

My friend's daughter went for student exchange to the USA. Half a year later he went on vacation to visit her. At the airport a fat young girl came to welcome him. He was shocked because he recognized his daughter. We laught about this because it happened some years ago and back in Germany she became normal. Me as half German half Pole I do not compare with Americans and Mexicans but with people in the east. You should look at the people in Poland or better in Belarus. You have to search for fat girls and boys. In addition, that they are slim they do not wear sweatpants, do not have tattoos and piercings and are polite. Poland is inbetwen. Still in Poland a fat girl will never show her naked belly wearing only a bra.

I'm a German grandmother and my family and I have been to the US several times and used to stay in self-catering accomodation. So, as a rule of thumb, I cooked dinner every other night and we went out to restaurants the other one. In the supermarkets, I found it really hard to find plain, unprocessed ingredients, say, e.g., rice. When I planned to cook a vegetarian risotto from rice, vegetables, mushrooms, tomato pulp and added parmesan, I only found SHELVES of all sorts of preparations "ready in 5 minutes" or so. The shop assistant scratched his head when I asked him for "just plain rice". Finally, he found some packages in the remotest corner of the lowest shelf. IMO, that's part of the problem.

My two sons grew up in Switzerland, did university in the US and stayed there after. But my older son told a revealing story about food between the two countries. He was out with a group of friends, having pizza or something, and one of the friends wanted to order more food, but my son declined. Another member of the group urged him to have more, but one his more preceptive friends said "No, leave him alone. He is from Europe. When they aren't hungry, they stop eating." That remark says a huge amount about the difference between how food consumption is regarded on the two sides of the Atlantic.

My daughter has many food allergies which have always been hard to manage. She went to university out side of the US and many, not all, of her allergies either went away or became mild, she came back to the US and they became more severe again. In the US, eating out is always tricky for her. It isn’t as tricky when she is outside of the US.

I went to the US for 1.5 weeks, I was constantly feeling either hungry or sick and gained over 10 pounds despite trying NOT TO. Went back to my home country of Switzerland and lost the weight in no time (eating carbs 3x a day and not restricting). Pop Tarts and the enourmous and overly sweet iced coffees (both for breakfast!!) from the US still haunt me in my dreams.

As a German person who does not own a car, I was shocked to see that you really cannot walk everywhere in the US. Page,Arizona: no sidewalk to get to Walmart from our hotel - thought it was a myth, now I know it’s true 😂 it is not common here to own a car before you have a full time job, so for some it’s only AFTER university (not at 16 like in the US)

I've been to the US once and have seen the most american picture ever: An Obese guy driving in a motorized shopping cart thing, wearing an "I love Guns"-shirt and a white, blue, red cap with an eagle on it shopping at walmart and buying a cowboy hat.

Something that I have seen from watching american shows, movies, cooking shows, etc. is that a side salad, or just a veggie side is not as common as it is here (I'm Austrian btw). While growing up, we always had a side salad for our main meal, except when we had soup (would be weird). Sometimes that was the only side, like eating an oven roast chicken with rice and heaps of salad was a common meal in out house. We also learned cooking from a fairly young age, which made us appreciate the plain ingredients a lot. My younger brother and I would spend a lot of time helping our parents wash, peel and chop vegetables, eating them in the process. Also, snacks here are WAY different - eating an apple or two carrots for a snack between lunch and dinner was the norm - we always had access to fresh produce to eat when we became peckish. Things like granola bars, crackers, sandwiches were either small meals or treats, not daily snacks.

Also I was phased by the term “hike” when I moved to the US. Americans will call anything in the realm of walk to the store a hike, which makes me think they have a completely different approach to physical activity

German (living in Denmark) here. When we sent our teenage daughter to the US for a High School Year a standard warning during the preparation meetings was:"Expect to gain 4-5 kilos while you are in the States. But don´t worry, you will easily lose them again when you are back!" - And so it happened. Having said that, - Germany may compare well to the US in this respect, but it could learn a lot from Denmark, still. Or any of the scandinavian countries... And may I add: no diet supplements necessary at all.

If you consider that mental illnesses are more common in the USA than in Germany, there should definitely be a connection between the quality of food and mental health

I saw your pictures of German dairy and had a chuckle at the milk containers. Born in the US, but was fortunate to visit Germany for 6 weeks in the summer of 93. I would walk to the store everyday to get a liter of milk. Sometimes twice as I was used to drinking approximately half a gallon of milk a day. Was very fit at the time since I was just out of highschool where I did athletic activities. You mentioned portion size/control ,but now remembering the clerks look on their faces seeing me buy so much milk made me laugh.

I am American and have lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen since 2012. This video is so spot on. Ever since I moved here, I ride my bike and walk everywhere. I rarely use a car unless driving to Austria for good snow. The dairy and food in general is so much more healthy. And I get a little sick when I visit home from the food also. This is extremely accurate. It is so sad about the fructose corn syrup.

Growing up in the US, I walked a lot, walked to school, walked to the mall, went on weekend walks for fun, and cycled extensively... I hated driving and people thought I was weird... eventually I just gave up an moved my family to Europe.... now I'm normal :)

I lived in the US for three years and developed a ton of digestion issues. I did not know anymore what was going on. it was horrible. Moved back home to germany and it all resolved within weeks completely. It is quite insane.

Great video my guy this could have literally been a documentary I would love to see a longer version of this where you go more in depth about everything especially the FDA standards which are just mind blowing

I live in Berlin, and without my bike I am not myself. And I am not the only one: Thousands of Germans are cycling to their jobs in the morning. In the weekends again thousands heading to parks, to their friends etc - all by bike. I love it.

I am German and studied in the US for one semester and I can add a few more stories: an American friend of mine thought it was crazy that I walked home about 10 minutes uphill to get from the library where we were studying to the place where I was staying (she literally lived across the street). I actually thought that that was extremely convenient as it takes me a 30 min bus ride + a 20 min walk to get home from the university in Germany. My American roommates also were amazed like I was some kind of super chef when I told them I made the pancakes I offered them on my own and not with these only-add-milk-mixtures. For all Americans reading this: Pancakes are super easy to make, just look up a recipe and give it a shot :D All “whole grain” products like toast I found in American supermarkets are ridiculous. And I don’t only say this because “Germans are obsessed with bread”. Whole grain products are just A LOT healthier in general. There are also such things as whole grain rice and I recommend baking cakes and cookies or the pancakes mentioned above with whole grain flour for example.

I'm Norwegian and have been many times to the USA. I can tell you that I was desperately searching for decent food on my vacations. The bread brought tears to my eyes, they were more like dough, as if they'd only been in the oven for 5 minutes. I'm used to crunchy crust, seeds and whole grains so I was pretty depressed when I couldn't find even one decent bread. I never drink sodas, but was curious of the american ones so tried out different ones. They were all undrinkable, it was like drinking liquid sugar so I kept to bottled water. I was shocked to see what was considered breakfast over there; like doughnuts and muffins - something most Norwegian would only serve on special occations because they are so unhealthy. And pancakes with syrup... need I say more. What shocked me even more was to see all the very obese people, even many kids! That's something we don't see in Norway. I have wondered why american food is so unhealthy and why they keep eating it when they must know how bad it is for them. (And yeah, the portions are extremely large compared to here in Norway/Europe.) Or why they don't walk more and keep active.

My time living in Germany had me at my most fit. I was in my early 30s and walked pretty much everywhere. It didn't matter how much beer and bratwurst I consumed because my daily walking distance more than countered it. As soon as I moved back to the US, I gained 20lbs in a matter of months. I eat a lot more here than I did in Germany. Despite having been pretty bad at the language, I still was out roaming around whether it was solo or with friends... which all was by foot, aside from the train rides.

This is one of the best videos I've seen on this topic. You've gained a sub with this one

Im half American and half German and I lived in the US for a while and I always wondered why eggs had to be stored in the fridge and everyone was so concerned about salmonella. Turns out in the us eggs get sanitized/washed and that destroys the protective layer of the egg so they go bad faster. In Germany that is not done and yes some eggs are dirty but they last way longer and I have never worried about salmonella even if they are raw or not fully cooked. Nature made eggs this way but Americans found a way to even mess that up :D

A few years ago I've been a 140 kg guy. Then I had to hand in my drivers licence for 3 months and were forced to use my bicycle to get to work. Even after the three months i kept using my bike to get to work (6 km distance), what made me lose 40 kg over 1.5 years without even changing my diet. Kinda proofs your theory

A friend of mine had a student exchange in the USA for several weeks. What struck her most was that even ultra-short distances are travelled by car. One day they were supposed to go on a "trip to visit friends". So, unsuspectingly, she and the family got into the car and drove exactly one (!) street away. It was so short, here in Germany she wouldn't even have taken the bike! 😂

That was very interesting to see! I never considered walking as something that you could put into the „healthy workout“ category because it’s so normal here. I walk every day 30 Minutes to work (& ofc the same back,making it 1h walking each day) without feeling I did something good for my body. It’s just how it is done here. I also heard that in many American towns you have a separation between the living- and the shopping areas. So you have to drive to these areas to buy your stuff and can’t just walk there. Meanwhile in Germany it’s normal to live in an area with many apartment houses and there are one or two grocery stores in between them. This way you don’t have to drive out of the „living zone“ just to buy something.

I'm a German flight attendant and travel to the US frequently. the portion sizes are mindblowing to me. I can rarely finish a meal in an American restaurant. I think most meals are also more oily and the free soda refills do the rest.

I'm English, but have lived in Germany for decades. Great lifestyle - plenty of free time. So as a cyclist my passion of cycling abroad has been satisfied endlessly, having cycled over 100 countries since 1990. Only in America, when I cycled coast to coast, TWICE, did I gain weight! This video helps me to understand why this happened!

incredibly interesting video!🤗 I'm from Germany and it's always very interesting for me to see the comparisons between my home country and other countries. It's just so sad that especially the food industry in the USA isn't really doing anything against their overweight problem...

Really good! Thanks for the video ;)

I feel like soda and sugary drinks play a major role in this. They don't satiate hunger or thirst, they dump tons of sugar (and therefore calories) into your system and they make you crave for more once the rush is over. It's the best to keep yourself from sweetened drinks if you want to get/stay slim. I mostly drink plain tea, water or (funnily) non-alcoholic beer and it works quite well. The next thing is of course to cut down on snacks. And here the simple rule is: You can't eat what you don't buy. So if you can avoid these bad aisles with the chocolate and the chips you've cleared 90% of the way to not stuff yourself with unhealthy snacks.

I lived in Nuremberg from 1980 to 1996. I am living in Virginia now and I do agree with you on how the Germans do things vs. America. Planning a European vacation now! Love watching your channel!

I moved to Japan and lost 20 pounds in two months. I didn't even know it was happening. I thought the scale was wrong.

I think soybean oil and things like it are a huge cause of disease in america. Particularly metabolic disorders like diabetes and thyroid issues. With this in mind, it would make a lot of sense why so many people are obese. Maybe they are more active and cant lose the weight so they give up and say they are genetically handicapped. My aunt who is diabetic is that way and both my parents with thyroid issues are that way. I have hashimoto's (thyroid autoimmunity) but instead of giving up I have done the work necessary to be as healthy as I can be and like you mentioned about chemicals its nearly impossible for me to find foods that I can eat without triggering my immune system. Wonderful video, cheers mate.

I am a first generation American, my parents were both German Europeans. How true your video is. My grandmother lived with us and gardened. Nearly all of our produce came from that garden. Nearly everthing was made from scratch. I still try to do the same. It makes a big difference. I am 64. I take no meds. I love to walk and hike. I would gladly make trips on my bike, if our infastructure was set up to do so. Instead, I do ride, but as exercise, but must drive somewhere to feel safer while riding.

This is so accurate. I am German, and even in elementary school, we learn about the amount of sugar in food to avoid it. More and more "candy shops" with snacks and sweets from all over the world are opening in Germany. I will never forget how I immediately spit out my first Twinkie because it tasted so disgustingly sweet and chemically. American chocolate tastes like vomit to most of us, and in general, everything is way too sweet and always has an unnatural, chemical aftertaste.

Very well observed. Thanks for the valuable content. What I also noticed when I was very often and for a longer time in the States in the 80s. When going to a restaurant for lunch, e.g. a steakhouse, or even just Pizza Hut, etc. Everywhere there is "all you can eat", at least for the side dishes. In addition, the free refills for the soft drinks, and possibly a go cup. It happens all by itself that you eat more than if, as is usual in Germany, you are simply given a slightly smaller portion compared to dinner. By the way, I would love to visit Washington one day, the Air and Space Museum has always interested me. I bet you were there when you lived in DC.

I‘m German and was an exchange student in Colorado, where I lived for 10 months. I always took my host family‘s dog for walks around town, which was very much frowned upon. People thought I was observing their houses. Despite my „Spaziergänge“ I gained 10 kg while living there.

I was born in 1960 so I remember the mid 60s and 70s as a kid and a teenager. The obesity rate for adults back then was 13%. Its three times higher now. Childhood obesity was rare - I remember maybe three truly fat kids in a school of 350 kids. We lived in the same suburban neighborhoods with at least one car and usually two in the garage. Took the school bus to school. Watched TV in the evening. People worked many of the same jobs as today (more service than manufacturing workers now though). The big difference with today was food. Many/most mothers didn't work outside the home thanks to the economy back then allowing a single income to support a family. My Mom made us a hot breakfast each morning, we ate a hot lunch in the cafeteria at school and she cooked a dinner from scratch in the evening (very little processed food). We usually didn't snack after dinner either. Soda was rare - definitely not a daily drink. Eating out in a restaurant was a treat that we got to do about twice a month. Portion sizes were smaller in those restaurants back then too. There were no fast food places in our small typical American towns until the mid 1970s. Plus even in our suburban neighborhoods we were much more active. Kids played outside from the time they got home from school until dark. Mom worked all day keep the house clean. Dad worked in the garden when he got home from his job. We had a different outlook on food and activities back then. Basically, I think Americans the past 35-40 years have been conditioned to eat more and worse foods and to be more sedentary. It didn't used to be this way. It shouldn't be this way now.

One thing i will say as a woman who loves to bike and walk whenever i can, that its not always safe. The amount of times ive been followed by someone creepily sadly makes me reluctant to engage in these activities where I can afford to live. When i am in places i am safe i walk all the time. So while i know part of this is influenced by infrastructure, there is also the culture of saftey to consider in the US. I have several friends who live in germany that i have visited and we both agree its so much safer to walk and bike around germany

You mentioned a really good point about walking as a means of weight loss. After you have gotten accustomed a bit, it doesn't fatigue you anymore. You don't feel drained, don't feel like you need to take a rest or fuel up. But it does burn a fair amount of calories, you just don't notice it like you do with an intense workout.

I like your documentary style dude 👌

When I visited the US, I was baffled not only by how many obese people there were, but also how unbelievably fat many of them were. Like "too fat to use their own feet to move themselves through a grocery store and having to ride a cart instead". And not just a single person every now and then; they were everywhere. I've never seen anything like this in Germany besides some very few people suffering from strong cases of metabolic diseases.

I've definitely heard a number of American travellers on KZfaq telling about how they've come to a variety of European countries eaten what felt like similar amounts of food to at home but still lost weight. Then gone home, ate same quantities of food but put all the weight back on again. There's obviously the fact that they walked more in Europe but there's definitely more sugar and fat in American food. My daughter worked as an international at an American summer camp when she was a student. I couldn't believe how much weight she put on in just a couple of months!

Thank you for this very interesting and informative video. It is shocking!

I weighed 150 lbs since I was a teenager. When I got into my early 40s I got a dog and we used to walk 4 - 6 miles a day and often much longer hikes on the weekend. He died of cancer 😭 when I was in my early 50s and my walking dropped probably 90%. In only a month or two I had put on over 15 lbs, for the first time in my life. Two months after getting another dog and starting the daily walking routine, I went right back down to 150. I love walking and think it is the best exercise, especially as you get older. Enjoyed the vid, thanks 👍

It's really interesting how these perspectives differ so much depending on where you were raised. I'm from the Netherlands and consider Germany as very bike-unfriendly, and at the same time the portions in restaurants are always too big for me. I can't imagine the US if for US-Americans Germany seems bike-friendly and the portions apparently small 😄

I can think about another difference in the "mild exercise". My American brother in law was shocked by the stroller culture in Europe (Czechia is very similar to Germany in these things) and how it is a big thing to "go out for a walk to get a fresh air" with a newborn / toddler in a stroller in almost every weather, in a nice weather even several times a day. Sporty parents buy a sport strollers and are jogging or skating with it. The lazy parents just go for a walk 😂 Also the strollers seemed to be expensive to him, but here is just regular equipment for parents.

Super interesting video, especially the DC vs. Stuttgart comparison. I wonder if the low bicycle usage there is due to missing bike infrastructure? Here some stories from my own experience: When I did a West Coast Trip back in 2015 (I'm from Germany) I was shocked to see that there was a bike lane basically next to the highway without a guard rail! That can't be fun and is immensely dangerous! In LA, where we returned your camper van, we tried to get to the next bus stop from the rental service ... it was impossible without walking on the street and people passing by in cars looked totally bewildered. I think if you enable people to incorporate healthy and fun habits into their daily routine makes a big difference ... and it also removes a lot of traffic from the cities. In my opinion that is an "everybody wins" situation.

Hey Nalf, thanks for this Video! I lived in america as a exchange student this year from january until the end of may, so 4 months in total. I never really had problems with my health and i cant even remeber the last time i was ill here in germany. but within these 4 months in america, i was ill 4 times for 4 weeks in total (only within 4 months!) Now im back in germany since 3 months and didnt had any problens with my health or was sick for a single day. I cant tell you why it was like that. Also i m an extremly healthy living person, caring about food, eating vetables, dont eat any candys (i havent in the us as well) and doing sport 4-5 ties a week since almost 8 years now.

Als Deutscher feier ich deinen Kanal!! Sehr informativ und Unterhaltsam

Well researched video! I think another major factor that wasn't mentioned is *drinkable tap water* in Germany vs soft drinks in the US. I see so many US Americans refusing to drink water because "it tastes bland" on social media, it blows my mind. Soft drinks are filled to the brim with sugar and chemicals and if I imagine I'd swap my daily water intake with soft drinks you best believe I'd be getting fat. In Germany tap water quality literally exceeds bought water quality so if we feel thirsty we guys have to walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water. In the US you need to buy water which is both more work and more expensive. I believe those are reasons why US Americans dislike drinking water and drink more soft drinks which itself contributes to the obesity problem.

Those "deep dive" videos are really great. Job well done

As a German who visited the Us last year and will visit again in 2 weeks, there is one thing you didnt mention that I think is really important too. Food prices: When I went into a Supermarket for the first time I was absolutly shocked how expensive everything was.Most of the ingrediants where like 3 or even 4 times as much as you would pay in germany. On the contrary to that Fast food wasnt cheap as I thought but even more expensive than here in Germany but cheaper than cooking on your own.This made me relize that most people just pick the cheaper, less effort and quicker alternative without thinking about the long term problems this will cause

I came back to the states about two weeks ago after spending two weeks in Germany and I agree with your comment about feeling a bit sick for about a week. I find that food is more easily digestible there than in the states and I don't eat fast food or drink soda. Plus, while in Berlin and Leipzig, I walked almost everywhere I went which helps burn off all of the beer I consumed, which was a lot.

I noticed this tolerance to sweetness in Canada. My wife and I stayed at my uncle's house who lived there, and he had a neighbor - a very kind woman, but terribly overweight - who baked a Saskatoon cake for us. This cake was so incredibly sweet that I thought it was going to burn my tongue. It really surprised us because we were the only ones who noticed this sweetness. My uncle, his wife, and the neighbor thought it tasted perfectly normal.

The last time I visited my Aunt in Georgia, US, (I'm from Portugal) I was shocked by how no one goes outside. The streets were always empty, like a ghost town. Everyone was disgustingly obese and their lives seemed sterile, devoid of soul or emotion.

Huge portions. Constant snacking. No home cooking. Preprepared foods full of sugar, additives, trans-fats… No exercise. Fake sugar snd low fat muck. Etc etc etc

The bit you said about how extreme people here in the US are about exercise struck me so hard. My spouse is skinny and does ALL the sports. I am stupidly fat and no amount of activity seems to put a dent in it, especially since I don't do them consistently. My spouse's version of trying to "encourage" me to do activities is to constantly take it to the limit. We can't just go for a walk. We need to go for a 10 mile hike in the heat and humidity of the south. We can't go for a chill bike ride to town, we need to go up a mountain. It makes me want to stress eat just thinking about it, tbh.

I am considered overweight, but I do my share to get rid of it. I just had a check on heart, liver, blood, insulin... and all is good (surprisingly). I switched from using my car all the time, to riding a bicycle. It made a HUGE improvement to my fitness (pro tip: buy a really good bike). I do consider my food as healthy, since I prepare the majority myself and don't buy ready made foods. I do not use any sugar, I don't even have any sugar at home (also Chocolate, chips, any sweets). I don't strangle myself with diets. I do love a Hamburger, but I make therm from scratch. And with the salad and veggies, I do not consider them as unhealthy. I went down from over 110kg to a more reasonable 95kg. 85kg is the goal I set for myself. I am 50 years old and I have been told it is harder at that age to loose weight. My biggest weakness is the beautiful Budweiser beer from the Czech republic. Since they are normal people at Budweiser (Czech), no need to boycott them. And I hate walking, that's why I bought myself a bike... Since my fitness improved, it makes really fun and I am as fast or even faster than a car around town. BTW, I still smoke.

tbh @NALF normalizing or balancing audio levels between sections would be really good to look at in the future (audio engineers call this "mastering"), I had to ride the volume knob this entire video for each section change and then the end credits were so loud they scared the cat out of the room! audio is worth the same attention as lighting

As someone who has been married to a German for almost 25 years, has lived there, and visits often, your observations are on point. I particularly agree about the added sugar and chemicals in the food supply. We are an active family who eats out very rarely and eats minimal processed food in the US. Whenever we go to Germany, I end up losing a pound or two in the first week - not really changing what I eat or my activity level. I attribute this to higher food standards in the EU with regard to food additives, sugar, antibiotics, and hormones in animal products. Thanks for posting this. I subscribed.

That was a very interesting post, thank you very much. Good research and good presentation. Thanks a lot. But we Germans have to be careful not to drift down the same path as America out of laziness, unfortunately I see a trend here.

11:00 This is wrong. Cities in the USA weren't build for cars. They were build for people, with a good rail system for the time. Cities were bulldozed for the car. That's true.

Great show be sure to thank Feli. I am Canadian and have lived here in Germany for 14 years now. I lost 10kg in my first months here until one day I realised I had put 4 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee. OMG I really needed it and my normal diet was not giving it to me.

Excellent article ....

I spend a lot of time in the U.S. and the fact that there are no sidewalks in the rural areas caused me some trouble because I like to walk distances up to 2 miles rather than driving. So, when I was in Florence S.C. I got stopped by the police when I was walking on the shoulder of the street. They said it was suspicious and only after I told them that I live in Austria the laughed and let me go. So, no sidewalks contributes to not wanting to walk. As always a great video, NALF!

My observation of the US is far from being scientific (i only spent some time in Washington D.C. and New York), but what i think really adds to the problem: I found it very hard to find affordable groceries. Our plan was to save some money by cooking at least some meals for ourselves, but this proved to be nearly impossible, as even really basic stuff like broccoli, milk and cereals were extremely expensive. And mind you our accomodation was located in a part of Washington D.C. where people constantly told us, that it was not a very safe area to live in and even there the prices for groceries and especially vegetables were surprisingly high. In Germany on the other hand, even in Munich - arguably the most expensive city in the country - you will easily find rather affordable grocery store to buy ingredients for a self prepared healthy meal.

When I first moved to Germany, I was having 'Abend Brot" (dinner) with a friend. I put 2 slices of turkey on my bread & he balked, saying "oh no, we don't do that, as it comes across as glutonous". I then started to realize & appreciate "moderation". There you go.

Interesting. It makes me remembering a doctor who spoke about health in my company. He said that it is essential to walk a little on a daily basis. It doesn't matter from a certain distance. 1-2 km are already quiet well. For example walking to your work. More is not so much neccessary. I think as a German it's important to have your own weekly market in your town. That is a great motivation to go there an buy good food from local butchers, farmers etc. ...

I‘m a German living in Chicago. I didn‘t really changed my diet and I definitely started to workout more and I still gained about 13kg (28.6 pounds) since I moved over here last September. I‘m going to move back in this September after I finished my gap year and I hope that I‘ll be easier to loose weight.

"American cities where not build for cars, they where bulldozed for cars." - from: Not Just Bikes in his latest video. Almost all American cities where build when the car was not invented. Zoning was not a thing and every city had a train station, tram lines and a walk-able center. At some point in time North-America took a turn and scrapped most of the train-connections, the tram systems and they bulldozed the cities to create space for more and more cars.

As an American living a long time in Germany, I agree with all your points 100%! Since living here since 1989, we actually go on hiking vacations, something that was totally uncommon as a native New Yorker. Visiting my sister in Texas, breakfast portions were humongous; everything is big in Texas. I could only eat half the portion, with my sister asking if I was on a hunger strike😅. In the supermarket, you rarely see people buying fresh produce, opting for more processed foods. I don’t want to sound arrogant but the Europeans have a different eating/ movement culture that is healthier. As you said, America goes to extremes both good and bad. Auf Wiedersehen! P.s. do follow American Football 🏈 here in Berlin ( Berlin Rebels!! America does have some wonderful things to offer!❤

Very useful presentation. I'm in Brooklyn, where grocery shopping is a multi block walk because of traffic and parking limitations. My counterparts in the 'burbs haven't walked to a grocery since Jimmy Carter left office. A recent family party left me surrounded by family sporting an extra 100lbs per person.

Regarding the food part, back when I was doing an internship, me and a co-worker talked about how various fastfood brands differ from country to country (price, taste, portions, etc.). Since he travels around with his family a lot, he had seen and experienced far more than I did. When I asked him what McDonald‘s is like in america, he frowned and said „Never eat it. It‘s super cheap but you can taste the chemicals going down your throat.“ I’ve never visited america but this quote always… terrified me.

I think another point is German honesty. We're like "oh, you gained weight" and not like "these curves suit you so well" and we don't deny the negative facts about being obese. Americans seem to be overly polite. But yeah, I think you named the main reasons pretty well.

Excellent video! I would love to see you get into more detail about the German diet though as a comparison point. What do they eat on a typical work day and weekend compared to Americans. I saw a video on this recently for Italians and found it fascinating.

One thing the not addressed in this video is that for women walking can be dangerous, even during the day, in the US. When I was in college in New York men would try to talk to me on the way to class, sometimes reaching out to touch me. I have never felt uncomfortable walking in Europe. Men there just leaved me alone. It was so enjoyable to walk without fear.

It's good to see more and more people realizing how problematic our city design over the last couple of decades was.

I would like to mention "Not just bikes" here. It's a youtube channel by a Canadian man, who has lived in a lot of places in the world, including Canada and the US, and who is very critical towards the urban planning of these countries. He finally moved to the Netherlands, to Amsterdam, because he did no longer wanted to live in a car-centered place. He is very outspoken about this topic and makes a lot of video's about it. Recent one was about the excuse that the US is so much bigger than this places (walkable, bike-friendly) in Europe. He debunks this argument I think. About food, I think there is more awareness about what is good food and what is bad food. It does not mean you can't eat chips ever, you just don't do that so often. A lot of things from the US have enriched our lives I think (movies, music) but the influence of fast food on the world is really bad. There is a MacDonalds everywhere you go around the world, and that is not something to be proud at.

I just stumbed upon this video and I was surprised you used snippets of my hometown, Schwäbisch Hall, in your video sequences. Funny! But you're right though, it's a pretty little city, and quite representative for the "country of the middle" you talked about in the beginning.

We had an American coworker who came to munich for two weeks. He had a really well located hotel. It was just across the street of our workplace. Around 300m distance. He got himself a rental car and said the distance is way to far to walk. We were shocked.

I live in the Netherlands. People with a BMI over 40 are very rare here. My girlfriend is from the UK, where (morbid) obesity is a lot more common. I think a lot of factors go into why such differences exist, the UK and the US do share a thirst for the 'always more, always better, always higher' mindset. This makes them achieve more, but also indulge more in unhealthy habits.

I am from Austria, I lived for some time in NY and you are right and there are even more reasons. i remember how shocked I was on how many super fat people I saw in the USA, it was really a shock. But after I ate American style, I put on weight too. The food was the main reason I had to go back, I could not stand it.

interesting video that, im from sunderland in the uk and i walk a cycle most of my journeys as its really not that far to town or work but thats just the way i am but as a whole people in the uk are getting heavier, also ive just been to croatia and one thing i noticed there that the locals where a lot thinner than back home.