Brits in their 30s and 40s are healthier than their American counterparts but are more likely to think their health is worse, a new study has found.
According to research, rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in Britain are lower for this age group, but daily smoking is higher.
Despite this, British adults are generally gloomier about their health compared to those across the pond.
Experts say wider health inequalities in the US should serve ‘as a warning sign’ about what Britain could look like without the NHS ‘safety net’.
Researchers from University College London (UCL), University of Oxford, Syracuse University and University of North Carolina analyzed data from 9,665 British born in 1970 and 5,381 American adults.
According to research, rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in Britain are lower for this age group, but daily smoking is higher
Experts say wider health inequalities in the US should act ‘as a warning sign’ about what Britain could look like without the NHS ‘safety net’
According to research, rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in Britain are lower for this age group, but daily smoking is higher
Nurses measured blood pressure, cholesterol levels, BMI and whether blood sugar levels indicated diabetes.
Study participants reported how good they thought their health was and how regularly they smoked cigarettes.
The study found that people in the US were more likely to have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, with four in 10 American adults being obese, compared to 34.5 percent of Brits.
Yet 18 percent of British adults were likely to report that their health was poor, compared with 12 percent of adults in the US, according to the findings published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Britons were also more likely to smoke every day, with 28 percent in this age group reporting cigarette use, compared to 21 percent in the American group.
Lead author, Dr Charis Bridger Staatz, from the UCL Center for Longitudinal Studies, said: ‘Although we could not directly investigate the causes of this, we can speculate that differences in levels of physical activity, diets and poverty, and limited access to free healthcare may lead to poorer physical health in the US.”
American adults were more likely to have high blood pressure at 22.5 versus 19 percent in Britain, and high cholesterol was 11 and 8 percent respectively
He added: ‘Given the political and social similarities between the US and Britain, the US acts as a warning sign of what the state of health in Britain could be without the safety net of the NHS and a strong welfare system.’
They found that American adults were more likely to have high blood pressure at 22.5 percent versus 19 percent in Britain, and high cholesterol at 11 and 8 percent.
Health inequalities were also wider in the US, with disadvantaged adults about eight times more likely to have diabetes than the wealthiest and seven times as likely to smoke.
In Britain, the poorest adults were twice as likely to have diabetes and smoke. Greater disparities were also found in the US in obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Professor George Ploubidis from UCL said: ‘In some ways these findings could paint a positive picture for the nation, as adult health in Britain is better than that in the US.
‘Yet this research should not distract us from the fact that over a third of middle-aged British adults are obese and a fifth have high blood pressure.
‘The new government’s promises to reduce waiting times in the NHS will be sorely tested as this and future generations continue to age in poor health.’