I have long held the assumption that Europeans are much healthier than Americans. Why I thought this, I don’t really know. I propose it was suggested in school and in various news reports–but I can’t say for certain. Perhaps, it’s a stereotype…
What I learned in Europe was that they really aren’t that healthy. They may not be as “obese” as Americans (I think the turnstiles at public transportation stops precludes that from happening), but they smoke in droves. And I would say that smoking is more dangerous to your health than obesity (it’s probably not that much).
I’ve also read / heard that Europeans find the cupholder a strange device in cars. They say something like, “Why would you eat or drink in your car. That’s when you drive.” And for that I have a couple things to say:
The primary mode of transportation for most Europeans is walking. And they like to walk and eat. They also like to walk and drink (even booze!). Our primary mode of transportation is driving–and we too like to eat and drink while we drive.
Driving in the Europeans cities I saw was an incredible adventure. The have yet to discover painting stripes for the lanes and the whole system seems to be a rather uncontrolled panic. People swerving in and out of imaginary lanes…turning in front of cars. Every driver seemed to have one hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the shifter, and three fingers on the horn. They certainly were not friendly drivers. At any rate, it would be impossible to do anything else except drive in a situation like that.
We, however, have nice traffic laws and painted lanes that make eating and drinking possible.