This August I was lucky enough to spend some time in Cantabria- both in the mountains and at the coast. It is an incredibly beautiful part of Spain and I can thoroughly recommend the Picos de Europa. The climbing was a particular highlight.
However, I was expecting to see a healthy diet ; full of Spanish olive oil and local produce.
What became clear was the high proportion of cured meats consumed - Iberian ham, parma ham and an array of more processed cured pork products feature highly!
High fat dairy (cheese) and high alcohol consumption (which is as cheap or cheaper than soft drinks) were also apparent.
The outdoor lifestyle in Northern Spain however is flourishing; be it climbing, canyoning ,hiking or cycling.
Could it therefore be that this population is improving its longevity with regular outdoor exercise , whilst reducing it with unhealthy dietary practices by consuming a large amount of cured meat which is known to increase diabetes, heart disease and cancer?
Compare this with Japan , where there has been a great focus on dietary health since the Second World War:
Japanese people have one of the longest life expectancy worldwide. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-020-0677-5
The Japanese government have for a long time installed strict rules on healthy food to be served in schools, and also more recently guidance for businesses on healthy living and reducing BMI. ( with penalties if they do not conform).
In Japan, men live to be eighty-one on average, and women reach eighty-six. Even more importantly, they remain healthy for much longer. The average British person is in poor health for between sixteen and nineteen years before they die. In Japan, it’s five to six years.
In my view there is a strong argument for greater government controls on diet within the UK and EU: They should ensure likely carcinogens a clearly labelled as such, whilst healthy foods are subsidised .
Andrew Fisher
August 2024
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