Bella Vandala, a musician, podcaster, and popular TikToker, is going viral for making a video where she points out 5 things about the United States of America that make little sense to her. She’s found that there are some deep contradictions in American life when it comes to its mental, physical and financial health.
“Why do you think that is?” Vandala asks.
Warning: This video has strong language.
1. “Why is it that in America, we have more fitness centers than anywhere in the world or any generation before us, but none of us are actually fit?”
Vandala is close to correct here. The U.S. has the most gyms globally, although it is ranked #3 regarding fitness centers per capita (Canada and Brazil have more). When it comes to whether we are “fit” or not, the U.S. is ranked the 10th most obese country in the world.
@bella_vandala #fyp #viral #america #American #health #diet #excercise #fittok #healthcheck #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthtiktoks #woke #wakeup #healthyliving #healthandfitness #fitness #politics #political #politicaltiktok
2. “We have more vitamin and supplement centers than anywhere else in the world or any generation before us, but none of us are actually healthy.”
The United States is the second biggest market in the world for vitamins and minerals. Although it’s hard to determine what being “healthy” is, a 2016 study from the Mayo Clinic found that only 2.7% of Americans exhibit 4 fundamental healthy lifestyle characteristics.
These four were:
Being sufficiently active
Eating a healthy diet
Being a non-smoker
Having a recommended body fat percentage
3. “We pay more on a daily basis to obtain regular food and none of it has any healthy or nutritional properties at all … it’s actually poisoning us and making us sick.”
For most people, it has to feel like the United States is the most expensive place in the world to buy groceries, especially in 2023. However, that award goes to Sweden, with the U.S. coming in at 7th, globally. However, the food quality in America has become a real problem because Americans eat far too much packaged, processed, high-calorie, store-bought and restaurant foods. “We’re really in a nutrition crisis in this country.” Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, told NPR.
4. “We have an abundance of mental health resources, but we are all suffering from anxiety, depression, or insomnia.”
An interesting fact about American life is that even though more people are turning to mental health practitioners for help, our psychological well-being appears to be getting worse. From 2019 to 2022, the use of mental health services has increased by nearly 40%. However, the U.S. ranks 29th in the world in depressive disorders and is the largest country on the top 30 list of countries with the highest depression rates.
5. “We work harder than we ever have, but we’re always f****** poor.”
She’s right here. Among other developed countries, Americans work some of the longest hours and take the least amount of vacation. But for many, it doesn’t translate to financial security. A recent report found that 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and even people of higher income are affected, too. More than half of Americans earning over $100,000 a year live paycheck to paycheck as well.
Even though Vandala’s claims aren’t entirely factually correct, her overall points are in the ballpark and reflect how many people in America feel. Undoubtedly, America is a country of contradictions where our lifestyles and goals aren’t always aligned. We want to be healthy, but our food isn’t. We work hard, but the cost of living is too high. We want to feel good, but the stresses of day-to-day life are too much.
“I just can’t f******wrap my head around it,” Vandala concludes her video. “I seriously can’t. Never before in the history of America or in any other country have they put such a large amount of money and attention into health and beauty to not be healthy nor beautiful. Why do you think that is?”
Source: https://www.upworthy.com/fired-up-woman-shares-5-big-things-about-america-that-don-t-make-any-sense
