Britons rated health as poor but better than Americans for obesity, hypertension, and cholesterol

According to the most recent research, obesity, high blood-pressure and high cholesterol rates are lower in British adults in their 30s and 40s compared to their counterparts from the US. Britons, however, are more likely than Americans to smoke regularly and judge their own health as poor.

The research, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology by a team headed by University College London (UCL), also revealed that American graduates with degrees are more likely than British adults to suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

The study also revealed that the socioeconomic disparities in health in the US are greater than those in Britain, particularly for diabetes and smoking.

The lead author, Dr Charis B. Staatz, from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal studies, said: “Our research shows that although British adults tend to think that their health in midlife is poorer, they have a better cardiovascular health than Americans.

While we couldn’t investigate this directly, we can speculate about the differences in exercise levels, diets, poverty and the limited access to free health care.

“Given the political and social similarity between the US, and Britain, it is a warning as to what the health situation in Britain could be without the safety net provided by the NHS and the strong welfare system,” said Dr Staatz.

Researchers from UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (UCL Centre), University of Oxford, Syracuse University, and University of North Carolina analysed data from nearly 10,000 British people who were born in 1970. They are participating in the 1970 British Cohort Study.

The Add Health study is following 5,000 American adults born between 1976-1983.

In two nationally representative studies, nurses trained in blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI measurements, as well as determining whether blood sugar levels indicate diabetes, measured the blood pressure. Participants in the study reported their perceptions of how healthy they felt and how often they smoke cigarettes.

The study found that US middle-aged adults were more likely than their British counterparts to have high cholesterol and blood pressure (22.5 vs 19%).

They were also more likely to be overweight (40% versus 35.5%). British adults were, however, more likely to report poor health (18% versus 12%), and smoke daily (28% versus 21%).

In a separate study, the authors looked at whether there were differences in health between countries based on their socioeconomic backgrounds, as measured by income and educational level.

In both Britain and the US they found that advantaged adults tend to have better health and healthier habits compared to their less fortunate peers. For most health conditions the US has significantly greater inequalities.

In the US the poorest adults are around eight times as likely to be diabetic and seven times more likely than the richest to smoke. In Britain, poor adults are twice as likely to smoke and have diabetes. In the US, there were even greater inequalities for obesity and high blood pressure.

Researchers found that American adults with degrees were more likely than British adults to have high cholesterol and blood pressure. The researchers also found that US adults who had parents with degrees were just as likely to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol as British adults without degrees.

The senior author, Professor George Ploubidis from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal studies, stated: “These findings can be viewed as painting a positive image for the nation. In some ways, the health of British adults is better than in the USA.

“This research should not distract from the fact more than a quarter of British adults have high blood-pressure in middle age and a fifth are obese.” If this generation and future generations age in poor health, the new government’s promises to reduce NHS waiting times may be seriously tested.