The British recently emerged as the second largest purchasers of diet products within Europe, behind the Dutch. In this edited version of an original Expatica article, Virginia Griffith explores why the Dutch are leaner than the British.

The United Kingdom has now been cited as 'the fattest country in Europe' with over half of its population reported as overweight or obese, ranking a mere one percent behind that of America. And looking ahead things do not bode well with a prediction that in the next 10 years 78 percent of the British population will be overweight. 

The Netherlands has also witnessed an increase in the number of people pronounced as overweight or obese, around 30 percent, double that of 20 years ago. But in recent years these figures have stayed constant and according to the official statistics agency Statistics Netherlands (CBS) this is likely to continue as the Dutch lead healthier lives.

There are declining numbers of smokers and heavy drinkers, and the Dutch also exercise more than their Brit counterparts. One similarity in both Britain and Holland is the high percentage of overweight men compared to that of women – 40 percent to 30 percent.

Why?
So why are the Dutch so successful compared to the British when warding off the bulge? Why are the British consuming more calories then any other country in Europe? It could simply be as a direct result of the accessibility and wide variety of junk food available. Although of course most moderately large towns across Europe boast at least one major hamburger chain, the UK unlike Holland possesses a mammoth amount. High streets are inundated with eateries, the majority being American, all offering highly calorific food to go.

Yet the Dutch equivalent is hardly low on fat. Snack bars offer various deep-fried foods such as frikadel (a kind of sausage), kroketten (croquettes) and patat (French fries) often smothered in mayonnaise or sate sauce. Moreover their interpretation of fast food is taken literally; rows of single portion snacks are obtained from self-service coin-operated dispensers. And for a dessert why not order an oliebol, a kind of fat sodden, doughy ball.

'Go large'
What is distinctly different between the Netherlands and Britain though, is the size of food portions which appear to have increased substantially in the past few years with Britain now adopting a ‘Super Size Me’ culture. This ‘go large’ mentality is further evident in supermarkets. In the Netherlands modestly sized food stores (which more than competently serve their customers needs) are in stark contrast to the enormous food warehouses in the UK. 

But as any weight watcher will tell you it is not consuming food alone that leads to becoming slim and healthy. Exercise is a crucial ingredient and this is in fact where culturally, these two countries are poles apart. The Dutch’s inclination to travel by bicycle (throughout the whole year) as opposed to hopping into the car for short journeys is one of many explanations as to why they are nationally fitter. In fact the Dutch indulge in many activities that aid in keeping them trim, some of which are provided for free by Mother Nature; like outdoor ice skating.

In the millions
According to 'Sport in Nederland' one in two Dutch people practise sport on a weekly basis with 4.5 million of the population associated with one of the 35,000 sports clubs operating in the country. These include, to name but a few, football, hockey and volleyball (the most popular team sports)  to tennis, gymnastics and martial arts, together with a number of  indigenous sports. 

In comparison, Britain  seems to be lagging way behind, with many clubs sorely underfunded and some even threatened with closure.   

For the Netherlands at least, the future according to the statistics looks reasonably positive especially when equated to Britain’s figures. However, a dramatic increase in calorie consumption throughout Europe is widely evident and consequently the escalation in weight-related problems has risen substantially compared to that of the past. Moreover the correlation between Europeans expanding waistlines and threat of life-shortening diseases is irrefutable. 

  
credits:
photo of British chips/fries by gazzat on flickr.com, used under Creative Commons licence
photo of Dutch patat/chips/fries 'at war' by eworm on flickr.com, used under Creative Commons licence
photo of Dutch snackbar by stevec77 on flickr.com, used under Creative Commons licence