Why College Women in Europe Are So Much Healthier (& How We Can Be More Like Them)

It was 1 p.m. and Florence was all but shut down as the majority of shop owners were, as usual, taking a break from their daily routine to enjoy a leisurely lunch with their friends. I was sitting in my favorite Florentine osteria(wine bar) during my semester abroad, watching as the Italians crowded in around me. They were holding glasses of red wine while they munched on plates of bread, cheese, meats and pasta. No one seemed stressed despite that it was the middle of the workday, and everyone looked slim despite their carbo-loaded plates.  As I looked around, I began to realize that the Italians were doing something right.
 
Over the course of my time in Florence, I learned that we can benefit in certain ways both psychologically and physically from leading a European life, and here’s why.
 
The European Mindset
Anne Hammond Meyer, a clinical psychologist and specialist in women’s issues, suggests that the “American mindset” of productivity, anxiety and a fast-paced lifehas been around since the pilgrims first began to colonize our nation. “We came here and developed the U.S. by pulling up our boot straps, so it’s ingrained in our culture. We live based on the idea that if we work hard, we’ll achieve,” she says.
 
Europeans focus more on experience rather than on achievement. “They seem to value the experience of living. Americans are all about future living or fear of the past, but in general, Europeans are mindful of living in the here and now.” Meyer believes that the European lifestyle leads people to be more grounded, which allows them to be in touch with both themselves and others. It also causes less anxiety, which is beneficial both physically and mentally.
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Kayla Riley, a collegiette™ who spent the past six months in Europe, noticed the different pace of life during her time abroad and fell in love with it. “Above all, Europeans know how to slow down! They know how to really enjoy a glass of wine, a good book, a conversation and a meal,” she remembers. “Unlike Americans, they don’t scarf down their lunch on the brisk walk to work, rather they make an event of getting a cup of coffee with a friend or going out on the weekends. We could definitely tear a page from their book!” 

But while this mindset of a slow-paced life might seem great in theory, you might be wondering if it’s a bit intangible. Still, both Meyer and other collegiettes™ feel that this mindset’s practical implications for our lives can be extremely beneficial.
 
Katie*, a collegiette™ with many foreign friends, notes anecdotally that college-aged Europeans seem less prone to drama than American college students.“They don’t sweat the small stuff!” she says. “One of my really good guy friends is from Europe. While I feel like I am always stressing about everything, he’s super cool and collected.”
 

This in-the-moment mindset can also be helpful when it comes to our dating lives. Jaime, a collegiette™ from University of Alabama at Birmingham, plays on the golf team with two girls from Europe, and loves hearing them talk about their dating lives. “They constantly tell me how much different their dating lives are from Americans,” she says. “They live by the ‘one day at a time’ concept and don’t rush relationships. Hooking up is considered more ‘fun,’ and not a requirement or mandatory step in dating someone. They’re not promiscuous by any means, but they realize that they’re young and should seize each moment with different guys, and are extremely independent.”
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Physical Benefits
Meyer emphasizes that a European mindset is not only important for your mental health, but it can also be hugely influential on your physical health. “Cortisol is produced when we are stressed, and it’s a neurotoxin! We’re all dying of chronic stress-based diseases because we live in such a fast-paced way. Living a European lifestyle brings people into a healthier, experience-based lifestyle based on what they value most.”
 
This European mindset can also be tied to eating behavior, one of Meyer’s specialties. After spending any length of time in Europe, and especially in countries like Spain, France and Italy, it becomes obvious that, despite cultures so deeply tied to good food and carbohydrates, there are very few people who are obese. But as you look around in shock and confusion (“Do Italians really eat pasta twice a day?!?!), remember that even eating behavior is related to this in-the-moment mindset that Europeans operate on.

Meyer explains that when people are stressed, they live in an external fashion which dials down the right brain and leaves them oblivious to their internal feelings, sensations and information. And one valuable piece of information that gets ignored is internal food regulation, which controls hunger and appetite. Therefore, the more stressed and anxious we are, the more we will eat when we aren’t hungry, and the more we will overeat.
 
Meyer believes that Europeans’ emphasis on food is paramount to their health. “In Europe, food is joyful and they are eating for fun. They pay attention to their internal regulatory system and savor the moments spent shopping for, preparing and eating a meal. And when they are full, they put down their fork, because they are paying attention to what their body needs and wants in the present moment.”
 
Rebecca Lew, a UC Irvine collegiette™, spent last summer in Europe. She fondly remembers the food as a high point in her trip and particularly enjoyed the slower pace of life she found in all the countries she visited.
 
“European countries take their time to eat,” she says. “They’ll set aside a few hours for lunch or dinner when they meet up at restaurants.  In France and Italy, I noticed a lot of cafes where customers just sit and talk for hours and people watch.  They don’t do lunch or dinner fast-paced like we do (which also means less fast food joints!). I think they also just like to take their time and enjoy themselves so they don’t rush about.  I feel like no matter where you are in America, people are always in a rush to go somewhere.”
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Lifestyle Benefits
In addition to a healthy mindset, Europeans are also healthier because of their fresh foods and emphasis on physical activity. 
 
Taking a trip to a European grocery store is quite an experience. The processed foods you would normally see on the shelves of your home grocery store are nowhere to be found, and are instead replaced with the freshest ingredients available. Because of the lack of processed food, ingredients often need to be bought daily, helping people think out each day’s culinary endeavors. Deanna Kerns, a collegiette™ who spent a summer in Rome, remembers daily grocery shopping as one of her favorite parts of Italian life. “Italians go to work, they go to the grocery store and come home to make their meals fresh,” she says.  “They do not buy in bulk like we do as Americans so their meals are fresher.”
 

Why are non-processed foods healthier for you? Nutrients are often pumped outwhile making the processed foods, which means that the resulting meal leaves you feeling hungrier and, in turn, makes you want to eat more.
 
And not only do Europeans think healthy and eat healthy, they also lead lifestyles that are active. After spending summers, semesters or simply traveling abroad, many collegiettes™ noticed thatEuropeans walk and bike everywhere. Quinn Cohane, a collegiette™ who is currently studying in Copenhagen, is learning to bike like a true Dane. “The Danes here bike — everywhere!” she says. “There is a huge biking culture and an emphasis on public transportation in general. Most young Danes don’t own their own cars, so they rely on walking or biking for the least expensive and healthiest modes of transportation.”
 
The Take-Away
Living in America makes it easy for us to subscribe to the American lifestyle without a second thought, but perhaps it would benefit us to take a step back, breathe and think like a European. Anne Hammond Meyer truly believes that the most beneficial part of the European culture is the fact that, in general, Europeans live out of their highest values. Because, she suggests, “You cannot live well without knowing what really matters to you in this world!”
 

Realistically, being a collegiette™ makes it hard to live a slow life, but making a conscious effort to slow down, close your eyes and figure out what gives you joy in life can make all of the difference in the world for your personal happiness. It only takes one small action a day, whether it’s drinking a glass of wine or walking to work instead of driving, to live your life in a European way. And I don’t know about you, but a life without stress and full of a love for food, family and friends sounds pretty darn good to me…
 
Sources
Anne Hammond Meyer, Clinical Psychologist
College women from across the country
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/149777/study_shows_benefits_of_nonprocessed_foods
http://www.losethattyre.co.uk/ten-reasons-not-to-eat-processed-food/