There were a lot of great statistics and perspectives presented on Monday’s lecture that led me to think about why our country does not have at least the same health outcomes as other developed countries. In my opinion, lifestyle and the culture of the United States plays an important role in this issue. Although we spend so much more on healthcare, people in the United States have a very different diet and lifestyle than many European countries. I took a trip to Spain and Portugal, each 5 days, in the summer of 2018 with my family. In Spain, I visited Barcelona and in Portugal, we went to Lisbon. I immediately fell in love with the way people lived and their overall moods on a daily basis. Compared to my life in the United States, I noticed people walk or bike just about everywhere they go. Additionally, I realized people eat much larger and more frequent meals here in the United States compared to Europe. When we ate in Barcelona, I remember the meals being much smaller portions although not exactly healthier (i.e. processed meat). In a statistical article posted from 2013, the average BMI in Spain was 25.7 and in the United States was 28.8. Therefore, I think a lot of the discrepancies in health outcomes roots from our sedentary lifestyle and larger diets. Gaining weight can increase the risk of many health complications such as hypertension, diabetes and CVD. Our healthcare system and well-renown professionals can only do so much in their settings because patients leave their appointments and are indulged in a culture of eating as a social activity rather than a necessary survival task. In other words, we should be eating to live and have energy rather than eating to talk to friends and due to the stress of our lifestyle. Lastly, we learned in pharmacy school to encourage people to walk more frequently. I think if you suggested that to a European, they would laugh at you because they are so active every day, relying on nobody else for transportation.

Another aspect I believe plays a large role is the average stress level of a U.S. citizen compared to a European. People did not seem as stressed in both big European cities which really made me think about how different my health would be overall if I moved to a country such as Spain or Portugal. Stress leads to eating, bad habits and even cancer which will all deplete the health outcomes in the United States. Why are we so stressed? Is it due to how our society is run or is it internal within us individually? Regardless, our lifestyles seem to play a major role in why the United States remains ranked in the 30s among healthiest nations.