My 14 Healthy Habits from living in Sweden *how they’re beating obesity*
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- Опубликовано: 12 май 2023
- We all know the stereotype of Swedish people being the most beautiful people on earth, we picture tall blonde athletic people. Now its a big diverse country, HOWEVER I will say the stereotype lives up. After staying up late one night binging RUclips documentary's I was watching one about obesity around the world and noticed that as obesity spread, it seemed to impact sweden less...which got me thinking. Amongst our more sedentary lives and constant fast food commercials, how has Sweden citizens managed to stay lean athletic and healthy? I've noticed a few difference between sweden and North America, and here's what I think is causing this. Enjoy!
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You forgot what I think is the most important one. Every kid gets free lunch at school from the age 1-19. The food is healthy and not pizza and burgers. They always serve sallads and for drinks its water and milk😊 Healthy habits at a young age. If the family eats unhealthy at home at least they get a better meal at school
It was like that went I spend a year in france in grade school too. They had the people who were in chef’s school cook for all the public schools so we had some of the best food I ever ate in my life. We also walked everywhere with school, if we ever had trips or to the sports complex( we went to a public sport center) we would walk or take the train. I think those were the biggest change for me since at home school lunches were packed or junk food from the caf and we all drove everywhere since you can’t walk places easily.
Oooo thank you for this!! Also so important 😍 would also be such a game changer worldwide it all children had access to healthy lunches from their schools! Hope that becomes a reality one day
Same in Finland. This (wellfare society) is why I don’t mind paying big taxes.
I'm from sweden and I feel so good seeing this because I didn't realize that it was so different
My mom runs a high-school(9-12 grade) kitchen in California and the food is a lot healthier than people realize. Can you purchase some items that are unhealthy? Absolutely, but they are an additional cost to the school lunches. Unhealthy items would be cookie or Gatorade. 1 meal a day will also not make you obese unless it is an outrageous amount of calories. Educate your kids at home too, so they can make smart choices.
This video is so true. I'm a Canadian living in Toronto (so I have a lot of roommates because everything is so expensive lol) and one of my roommates was from the Netherlands, and just all of the healthy habits she carried over and filled our house with was so interesting. She biked everywhere (despite how rough biking is in Toronto), went out of her way to seek out the healthier and less processed food options, got our whole house on a weekly farmshare of local vegetables, and took a disgusting patch of our yard that was covered in bricks and broken bottles etc and cleaned it up for a few weeks and then turned it into a beautiful vegetable garden where she grew lettuce and kale and herbs and peppers and tomatoes and carrots and so many other things. She was also a serial baker, like we had so much banana bread and cake and other baked goods in our house. She just balanced everything so intuitively. She knew sewing skills so she fixed all her clothes and made new ones. She just had such a different energy than us North Americans that I really attribute to her being Dutch. She moved out recently because she moved to Norway for school but we still have the farmshare going under her name and try to maintain the vegetables, and really I want to get to the point in life where so many of these healthy habits feel second nature to me too lol
As a fellow Torontonian who is originally from Los Angeles, I want to defend Toronto a little bit, though (in terms of the points raised in the video, not necessarily the points you made here). The work-life balance culture is better *enough* here than in the US that people are not *as* stressed or inclined to make unhealthy choices, it's one of the only North American cities that iS walkable, and most coffee shops out here only go up to a "Grande" -- only Starbucks still has a Venti, but I have literally never once seen anyone order it out here. Whereas in the US, I saw it all the time.
But I also have a Dutch friend & she is better at intuitive eating & biking & has a healthier, less judgmental body image than North Americans, period.
As a Swede who lives in Canada now, I couldn't agree more. I grew up always going on walks as a way to relax and spend time with friends and family. Candy and chips was reserved for weekends and we almost never ate out or ordered in. I never thought of it as being restrictive. I recently moved to Vancouver after having lived in Edmonton for the past decade and I'm looking forward to being able to walk around and enjoy nature again like I used to. I've made my husband accept the ways of the fika ;)
Another thing that stands out to me is how much more fruits I used to eat in Sweden. We had a scheduled portion of the day in school through ages 6-8 when we would have to have brought a fruit from home and the teacher would read us a story. Kids even get a free fruit when you go grocery shopping.
I'm going back to the north of Sweden to visit my family in three weeks, I'm beyond excited!
I live in Toronto but last week I visited to StockHolm last week, and I would say you’re right .. my cousins told me the same thing you said … we should move there lol 😂😂
Hey from Edmonton! I lived in Vancouver, too...but I love Edmonton's outdoors so much better, especially in the winter. Enjoy your time with your family!
thats a you problem im edmontonian walk in the river valley every day and eat no sugar only fruit LOL
@@yasminamin1893 I do still very much enjoy Canada but I miss Sweden from time to time :)
@@SongbirdCollageArts Thank you :D
As a Swede watching this, I must shamefully admit I have consumed candy on a non-Saturday. I will be handing in my citizenship and migrating to Antarctica 😢
Fy skäms på dig på riktigt!🤢
😂
😂
😂😂😂😂😂
I think we all do that, its just we dont overeat it during the week(mostly)
One of the biggest differences between USA and Europe is the stress. We don’t worry as much about basic life things. Our social structure is better, work life balance. The stress hormone is one of the worst once to have…
We also all on anti dep 😂 and rising gang violence might stress us out soon enough.
Yeah, Maybe in western Europe…. 😢
What are you even talking about? Better how?
To get to a doctor, the wait is months! 2-3 usually is considered normal, but in that time whatever you have can escalate exponentially.
An example: I have problems with my back and needed an x-ray, the problem that you can only get that after going to your family doctor first. So a month of wait till you I saw my family doctor. Then... I registered for x-ray, 2 months later, and in that time period I got pregnant. I found out (thankfully) a week before the x-ray.
So now, there's no way to say how bad my spine is and how it can even impact pregnancy and delivery.
A great system yes! LOL
@@Lina-lq7jm I’m sorry that happend to you. But when you where waiting you probably didn’t worry about the cost. You went to a doctor knowing that something would be done. Not if you could afford it.
In the Netherlands we are having some issues with waiting but my normal doctor is maybe a days wait or sometimes just an hour. Also I’m not in constant fear of gun shots, what would happen if I get fired and if I’m able to walk my dog in the evening. Overall we just do have it better. Not saying there aren’t issues! But just a bit less :)
@@EwaKor93 probably, but you have the option to go here without the wait of a visa❤️
1:03 Grocery stores
2:06 Lunch culture
2:57 Sports (not 'diet') products
3:47 Cost of food
4:09 Liquor store hours
5:05 Saturday Swedish candy
6:45 Lack of regular pop/soda
8:30 Fika coffee break tradition
9:40 Starting habits young
10:15 Walking & Biking
10:50 Portion sizes
11:29 Checkout aisle
14:25 Sports at every age
15:24 Identity
Growing up majority of Swedish kids do one or a few sport activities after school + take music lessons once or twice a week (most come from homes that allow the child to choose the instrument they wish to play).
Thank you.
I'm fat, and making my way toward body neutrality. You're the only fitness influencer I follow because you are always sensitive and respectful. Identifying these differences is helpful, because the environment (along with other things you've mentioned - socioeconomic, hormones, etc.) also makes an impact. Loved the video!
J F, we've been lied to by most of the so-called healthcare practitioner's and sold out by the pharmaceutical industry and government. My doctor at the VA told me a few months ago to get on the carnivore diet. I dived deep down the rabbit hole and started doing my research and this is the diet that we are designed to eat. In three months I have lost 50 lbs and continue to lose. My energy is off the charts, no mental fog or tiredness after eating a meal with carbs and my overall health has drastically improved. There are two very good channels on RUclips from two physicians that have a ton of information on the diet. One is KenDBerryMD and the other is anthonychaffeemd. Give it a try for 90 days and see the results. I'll never go back to eating all the junk that is in our diets now.
You should follow the insensitive ones too, that'll help you on a mental level
Same here. Also fat and wanting to be healthier. I wouldn't mind being thicker, slightly overweight. But I do not want to be obese anymore. Here's hoping we got this.
@abbyferrari It depends on your personality. It helps some, not others. Shame doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes it even makes the secretive eating worse and worse.
@@abbyferrari you should aim for healthier lifestyle because you are working towards loving urself and everything u can do. you cant shame someone into love because its a lot mentally and it’s unsustainable
I am a Swede and I’ve lived in the US for the past 10 years. I think you nailed it, good work representing us and spreading the word about how small lifestyle changes can lead to a happier and healthier life :)
Fellow nordic follower from Finland here ❤❤ To people who are new to the nordics, It can come as really astonishing how much Nordic people enjoy outdoor activities. The variety of interactions with nature is *infinite* even in the dark winters thanks to the snow. This is definitely a great contributor to our health. I'm personally not the biggest fan of playing sports all the time, but an hour-long walk near the riverbank or a hike in the forest always hits the spot ❤
🇸🇪❤️🇫🇮
I hate the outdoors
this video made me feel grateful and happy about living in Europe 🇪🇺 ❤
Truly is so amazing here!
Me too! 🙏
You don’t understand how lucky you are (coming from an American)
I remember when I visited a family in the US. Their rule was maximum 1 soda a day (and they were a "healthy" family) For me growing up in Sweden soda was a treat that you had on a holiday or bday for example.
Also eating out is just a few times a year for my family, in the US is seams like they eat out more than making their own food
I am from the US and just got home from a semester abroad in Denmark. I absolutely agree with all of your points! Especially the "serotonin" point. I feel like the most valuable lesson I took back home is how to freaking relax and not feel guilty about it. I think this also plays a massive role in the differences in weight and health between the regions. My professor told my class that the ways he can tell who is an American is by "those giant colorful waterbottles you all carry, you are short, and your shoulders are up by your ears with stress".
Lol damn that’s a little harsh I feel attacked 🤣 is it unusual to carry re-usable water bottles? Or is it just unusual to carry large ones? It’s nice you don’t have to refill them as much, but I also like smaller ones that fit into a cup holder or bag easier.
I had to laugh, this was so true! We do carry huge water bottles and our shoulders are up t our ears, for no good reason!
Lol, I am already short here (Canada) so I would be positively petite there!
This video came out at the perfect timing! I just came back to Sweden after have spent over 7 years in the US. The past year in NYC wrecked my health and I had to go back to Sweden to give my body a break. Holy moly how much these simple lifestyle changes do to your body! The inflammation in my body is pretty much gone within two weeks of being here and in general feel so much happier.
Other things I’ve noticed since being back:
1. The quality of the food is just so much better that I a) feel satisfied with less quantity of food and b) don’t experience any bloating whatsoever. In the US I had to go WFPB vegan and essentially only buy organic at Whole Foods in order to survive.
2. Everyone are just so much more productive in less hours, and once the clock hits 5-6 people go home and don’t work after hours. This makes people so much more happy and creative Life is more than just working! (Big culture shift after so many years in the us)
The stress lever in Sweden 🇸🇪 is way more lower than here . Stress hormone is what makes us overweight and not enjoying the food
I'm French and I've spent the last 10 years in the US which made me gain about 40 pounds. I've noticed exactly the same thing about the quality of the food and the bloating. My body just went out of wack because of the food here in the US and it's been extremely hard for me to lose the weight even with a balanced diet.
The soil here in the US is depleted of all its nutrients that's why we seem to never feel satisfied.
Even with eating veggies and replacing normal food like rice with cauliflower rice or quinoa and trying to be even more healthy than I already am, I believe my hormones are all over the place. I'm back to France now so I'm gonna see a MD to see what's been going on with my health. But I believe that everything in the US is done for people to be as unhealthy as possible. Even the FDA is allowing products that are banned in Europe like High fructose corn syrup and other things that create insulin resistance... And the veggies and water are so much more expensive than sodas and junk food.
I came to the conclusion that their Gov is actively trying to make Americans develop diabetes and other illnesses to feed their pharmaceuticals companies.
Fantastic video, we personally love it! 😊 Reveals inspiring healthy habits from Sweden that can combat obesity and improve well-being.
I was in England & France for the whole month of April visiting my husband's family and noticed all of these things there too! I miss the 'relaxed' way of life and making every moment enjoyable - not just going from place to place quickly like you said.The restaurant culture is also amazing - I thoroughly loved ENJOYING my food and socializing instead of being rushed in and out of a restaurant.
My opinion: Europe in-general seems to have better food quality standards and the perception of food is different than it is here in the United States. I've noticed this concept a lot whenever I go to Germany to see my sister and visiting other European countries.
Sadly, I think technology has also contributed to the rise of obesity in the U.S. as well.
Agree with this as well! The quality of basic food differences is crazy
As a European, I agree. Wholegrain bread, more natural flavors and food colorings (some colorings are banner in EU that you can have in US), less sugar, more places for walking, less packaged food.
It could correlate with the fact that in Sweden (and some other European countries) our health care is tax funded. So obesity - which causes a lot of health issues and becomes expensive- is in the government’s best interest to prevent. No one gains from more expensive health care. Everyone gains from regulations and incentives that benefits a healthier overall lifestyle for the population.
I agree about the perception: I would claim that at least in the parts of europe i know, healthy food is seen as something important. Something to aim for when shopping.
Fruits and vegetables are advertized as healthy food. (not some "diet" or "light product" they are only advertized as lower in calories, not usually as healthy).
yes. not the UK though
I appreciate your observations. I’m overweight (morbidly obese) and I wasn’t triggered. I am who I am and need to make better choices and I am working on it. This was informative. I am part Swedish myself but know nothing about it.
Is it really so much about making choices? Or is it about culture, genetics, personality? And about not feeling stressed out. Stress is even worse than not moving the body. However, I would personally go crazy without my 5-15 km walks and/or cycle tours, say 2-3 times a week during winter, and almost every day in summer. Usually to town, to/from work, or through the forests, or down along with the water. I drink black coffee with a cake on the side with friends, almost every evening (or about four a clock in weekends), and I eat what I feel for. I'm somewhat middle age fat though, at 58, but being too skinny isn't ideal at my age either :)
Please don't take this as me being smug or so, even if I am.
It was just intended as an example of a less than perfect Swede that never works out on a gym.
Perhaps a middle way?
As a Swede who's lived in Canada and now live in Denmark, you're spot on. I go through periods of not being as healthy as we all do sometimes, but yet I never seem to gain any significant amount of weight. I truly attribute this to walking and biking everywhere no matter the season. 20 minute bike ride to work, 20 minutes back. Walking later to the grocery store or a friend. Taking time during lunch to get out if the weather is nice for a 15 minute walk etc. At the end of the day, you've actively moved for at least an hour without even having been to the gym and you've probably gotten at least 7K steps in without trying. And that's a huge difference to driving everywhere like I saw in North America 😅 But because the cities are also built for that lifestyle with bikelaines and parks in the middle of our bigger cities, it helps people to be active.
I read the book Bringing up Bebe - it’s a story about an American women’s experiences having children in France. She goes in depth how the French culture starts influence children to become confident in prepping food, making recipes together, school lunches are fresh local ingredients. It has some really great insights and It’s an amazing book and would be one to look into! I’d watch for sure. It definitely has an insight on how I hope to raise my kids!
I'm Danish, so a neighbour of Sweden, and I think all of these are true for Denmark as well. We don't have Fika, we have Hygge but it's the same, it's the same. And we have Friday-Candy not Saturday, but other than that.
I love how you include a bit of cake every day as part of a healthy lifestyle. It's important to remember that a little bite of something sweet every day (in conjunction with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein) does less harm than a huge binge of anything once a week will do.
I think this was great and praise for Scandinavia always makes me feel proud to be a Scandinavian.
Some people in Denmark have saturday candy though :)
We have fredagsmys AND lördagsgodis 😅
Swedish person here. Thank you! I just love watching videos talking about Sweden. Hearing about it from an outside perspective makes me appreciate these little things a bit more. 🎉
Yes, I feel totally the same! Now I am really grateful to got to live and been raised in Sweden ❤ Didn't Always liked it as a child with roots all over 😅😅
And may I also mention: in Sweden we have several labels on foods to make it easier to spot out the healthier options of pasta, bread, dairy etc… one of them is called “nyckelhålet” (the green key hole”) and is a mark products can receive if the have less sugar/salt/unhealthy fats and more fiber and whole grain 🎉
In Germany we have something similar. Our "health scale" goes from A to E and Green to red. A is the healthiest and E the least healthy. :) It's pretty helpful and made me realize just how much cr*p I used to eat, haha.
Same in belgium, "nutri(tional) score"
@@DM-nw5lu i think its becoming widespread around europe, so maybe its mandated by the EU. I've seen them in Spain, Austria and the Netherlands too
Those are bull though.
I'm from Germany and was in Sweden last year. I don't drink alcohol and I absolutely loved it that you have so many alcohol free wine's and beer in the supermarket in Sweden. Absolutely awesome. In most country's you are lucky to find ONE alcohol free wine or so (I have celiac desease and can't drink alcohol free beer unfortunately)
The alcohol free wine Ive tried in the US taste awful! Heineken zero beer is not bad though
It is because it is illegal for supermarkets in Sweden to sell alcohol above 3,5%
@@kham7571 I have Celiac's Desease so I can't drink alcohol free beer unfortunately
@@LalaLala-hk4wtyou can drink corn based beer like Corona.
@@viktor8552 Corona beer still has barely malt. So I can't drink that with Celiac's Desease
you put yourself so eloquently keltie, well done! your observations are so nuanced and they make so much sense. as a brit, it feels like we've adopted a lot of those north american ideologies, as we have those sweets at the checkout and you best know i've picked up a reeses cup too!
but, especially your points about how you create this healthy lifestyle as a part of who you are. the whole idea of these young kids being raised into this community where health is the norm is so refreshing. this is an incredibly well made video!!
Thank you so much Mayra! I know it’s a tricky topic and I tried to address it fairly 🩵 god damn those Reese cups deserve and award for the amount of temptations they’ve gotten us with haha!
@@KeltieOConnor you did a great job with it as well! and omds you're so right, reese's must be absolutely raking in the cash from all those cheeky little purchases they catch us out with! 💀
As someone of Scandinavian heritage living in the US, this makes me so badly want to help get the US on track to live a healthier lifestyle like the one portrayed in this video! I just recently found your channel and love your content, keep it up!
The fat acceptance community would try to cancel you and call you fatphobic 😅
What does your heritage has to do with a anything else said in your comment? Or is that just one of those impulse you blurt out before every sentence you make? "as someone with Scandinavian heritage, i eat bananas".
@@loris-bismar the video literally takes place in Sweden, a country of the Scandinavian region.
@@HDPeterson19 and? Sweden or Scandinavia didnt do anymore guest appearances in your comment except for the first one which made that point completely pointless to the rest of what you wrote. I stand by previous comment.
@@loris-bismar What is it you're not comprehending about his comment? And why so salty?
The video brings up a lot of different habits that are more common in Sweden compared to the US, and as someone with Swedish heritage he feels more inspired, as opposed to someone without Swedish heritage perhaps would, to bring these Swedish habits to the US.
Identity: that one is called the Jante law and is a common denominator to Scandinavian countries, where the interest of the community is more important than the single, individual achievement. Scandinavian countries are very egalitarian and this is one of the things I like the most about them ❤
Hi @lauracanna2201 We also have the "Jante law" in Norway (actually "Jante" originates from a Norwegian author, Jacob Sandemose, who wrote a novel about a small community). Will you argue that there are pros and cons to this phenomena? It regulates the individualism (in a good way), but also holds people back with "you shouldn't believe you are better"-mentality in the community? That is how it is perceived in Norway (I'm a social studies (and in Norwegian language og litterature) teacher in high school, so this topic is very interesting to discuss).
@@litt_brandt I'm not Swedish, but I live here. From an outsider point of view I don't find 'Jante law' all that awesome. It is quite extreme how obedient Swedish people are without questioning what they're being told. There are positive sides to it, (like paying taxes and general trust, but, as I said, it's a bit too extreme for me to consider it healthy. You need to be able to have some personal integrity, and raise the voice when necessary. Here everyone is quiet. I'm not a huge fan.
@litt_brandt hi, I know you do have it Norway, that's why I said is common to Scandinavian countries :-) my husband is Norwegian and we got several times in discussions about it 🙈
for sure there are pros and cons to it but as we leave in a word where there is too much ego and selfishness involved, I see that would be good to spread a bit of it around, above all in countries like the USA. Very interesting topic indeed 😊
I am German and have lived in the Netherlands for the last five years, but moved to Sweden last year. This view on things is very interesting to me, since most of the positives you have mentioned are not very specific to Sweden I would say. I find food, and especially produce, to be very expensive here compared to NL. And the bread is actually something that I think is the reason why I gained so much weight when moving to Sweden :D Bread here, compared to the German one I'm used to, contains so much sugar
German here as well and I agree 100%. The bread in Sweden is kinda "heavy" and sweet compared to German bread. I feel like most of the things mentioned in the video are pretty normal things in European countries (the order of the grocery isles, diet foods, walking everywhere, less soda, portion sizes for ex.). It's just different for someone from the US/North America.
I live in Sweden. But like most Europeans, I have visited other countries in Europe. Can't remember the bread in Germany being less sweeter than here. But then I usually eat something called Rågkusar or Knäckebröd, unsweetened bread made from rye and whole grains.
But when I visited California a few years ago. The hotel breakfasts mostly only had toast and waffles to choose from, as well as lots of other sweets. My stomach really disliked the breakfasts there.
I would say since it is a big thing in Germany to eat alot of bread then it is understandable you would gain weight eating the same amount of white bread in Sweden. Typically Swedes eat 2 slices of bread for breakfast a day (to have an idea) 😋 Many people would choose dark break or hard bread in Sweden.
And there are almost NO bakeries in Sweden. I've always found that really strange ... It's always in a plastic bag as well.
Try the Finnish 100% ryebread or 100% oatbread, you can't find dark enough ryebread in Sweden 😅 (I've lived there). But all of these points are similar in all Nordic countries.
I had worked with a Swedish family and I really appreciated seeing how differently they viewed eating. They didn’t stuff themselves and seemed to have no food guilt. I really learned a lot from them
As a person raised in Poland (kinda close to Sweden) I have to say that their tradition of saturday candy was adapted in my house in modified version-as kids (me and my siblings) could only have sweets such as candy on weekends and special occasions such as birthdays. we had so called weekend cupboard and there were sweets that we could eat from friday afternoon till sunday evening. I have to say that it dafinitely helped me build a healthy relationship with food and I have never really binged on those sweets- they weren't something forbidden because I could eat them without any guilt but also they weren't very easy accessible during weekdays.
I really enjoyed this video!! I'm Canadian and just spent a week visiting my friend in the south of france. I noticed how active the people were there, especially the older generation. I saw so many people either walking, cycling and swimming in the sea. I also noticed how much more they enjoyed life by living it at a much slower pace.
This was so informative, light and fun talking about a very intense subject. Well done comparing the 2 regions and/or countries. You did so respectfully. Made me want to move to Sweden for a moment. You should totally keep on sharing about fitness and food lifestyle in different countries and region of the world, that would be interesting to learn from those! Thanks for posting!
Also the coffee here is just straight black so its barely any calories. Getting a bunch if syrups n milks etc suddenly makes your coffee a 800 calorie bomb.
«Scandinavian coffee» ❤
I noticed the Saturday candy thing in my life but for youtube. All my favorite creators put out content on the weekends so its my special treat, but since being home from college this week I've watched SO MUCH that its not really enjoyable. I still adored this video and I will be pacing myself a bit more next week 😂. Thanks for a great video
That was a thing in the 1950s and back though, hardly today.
The main reason swedes, or europeans in general, are slim compared to americans
is because they are less stressed out and because they move their bodies.
This happens natually when you don't have the habit of taking the car everywhere.
Thank you for doing a vid on Sweden! I really hope to return someday - we’ve only been to Stockholm and got a mental party ferry to Alund Island. Mental as in the Swedish got on and hit the dance floor immediately - total respect to them!
I travel frequently to Sweden for work, and Stockholm is great! It is one of the most walking-friendly cities, and they have gyms and saunas everywhere. The quality of their food is off the chain, including the fruits and vegetables. I often unintentionally lose weight when I travel there, even though I eat MORE over there.
this was fascinating to watch, actually. I knew a little bit about the lifestyle differences between Sweden and the U.S. but this dives into it more and breaks it down better for this kind of audience. good job, Keltie!
Love this whole analysis!!!! It’s actually crazy how much companies pay to have their products on the eye level shelves in North America, that’s the premium shelf space and it’s mostly all contracted!
This is so true. I leave in Sweden for the past 5 years. I have successfully adopted Swedish lifestyle and became more sport loving, take it easy type of person. All you mentioned in the video, I have noticed it too. I wish this lifestyle could be encouraged in other countries as well.
I love this video!!! I love this concept and changing your mindset and every day life for fitness and more so wellness to be seamless and a part of who you are. Please make more of these! ❤
I think this issue is so hard to talk about and you really nailed it! I love how aware you are when making videos like this 😊
Love this! I’m part Swedish and always wanted to visit. I really liked seeing how everything is kind of ingrained in the Swedes as a lifestyle instead of deprivation. Even the,about of the grocery stores promotes better choices.
Those healthier options are generally also the more expensive ones here in Sweden, and organic really is on the top of expensive, ofte tweo or three times the price of the nutrition-deprived produce - for example white toast bread with long shelf-life in a plastic bag and baked with lots of sugar and chemicals vs wholegrain and short span of freshness, which is natural.
I can totally relate! I'm Swedish and I live on Gran Canaria, a Spanish island, and this video makes me really miss Sweden! I've tried to explain the Candy on Saturdays-thing to him (as he eats chocolate and drink coke every single day, but then again, he's born and raised in America..) that it's something we learn from early age and that it's just a healthy lifestyle that sticks with us into adulthood.
Im so thrilled. I've seen a few of your videos, and here you are in my home city filming. So cool 😄💓 im so excited and proud at the same time.
Great video! Thank you! This was my first time watching your videos.
this honestly made me appreciate Sweden a bit more. it's like a lil refresher even for me who's lived here all my life. :)
I am Norwegian, and I think an important thing is that we have strict governmental regulations on imported foods (GMOs and a bunch of additives are illegal), and there's a big focus on locally produced foods. Also, our health directorate yearly publishes a set of dietary advice. (This year: How ultra processed food is more unhealthy than thought previously.) I think it leads to greater public awareness around choosing the right kind of foods:)
Growing up in Sweden i haven’t even thought about all of this, but it’s absolutely true! This was a great video, cool to see the little snippets here from Sundsvall too; I was shocked at first, but then it just felt like home!
HI! I’m from Brazil, and just loved the content! As my country has a big economic difference between the population, we can see the increase of obesity, but it is also associated with desnutrition, mainly because of the inflation and the prices of food - for example, about 3 bananas are costing R$ 3 but noodles are costing R$ 2, so lower income families tend to eat more processed and not the most nutritional ones. Said that, I come from a middle class family, and I feel that the Brazilian way of living is really similar do the Swedish ones, pretty much 13/14 things listed, except the food prices, we do here as well! I actually was really proud of my country when the video started saying that de fruited and vegetables aisle came first in the supermarket, because here it is like that. One of the things in Brazilian cultures that brings as close to eating healthier is the act of cooking, so instead of just open bags Brazilians tend to cook a lot, as its bring family to the action and to the table, haha…
well we have some of that in Sweden too but we have "foodcharing" or what you wanna call it. For exampel we have family up in the village that have to much appels and pears so when the kids pass by they know its ok to take an appel or 2 on the way home ftom school
love when you do these kinds of videos! Go Keltie!
So happy to hear that!!
Very interesting content...thanks, Keltie! 😊
Just love your presentation style: informative, to the point and with a dash of sarcasm :)
As a fellow Swede who have lived in America for several years I resonated soooo much with that “mindless eating” habit that seems to be a normal state in the us… whilst in Sweden I feel like we grow up to be more intuitive eaters naturally just by our ways in society 😊
Us Swedes, we’re also walking so much on a daily basis. The mindset is basically “it’s close, I’ll walk”- that can be 30-40 minutes of walking. To reduce stress I walk, it’s not “let’s regulate the emotions by eating”. We are taught mindful eating and to moderate our food intake. Growing up all I heard and my friends too, was “food is for energy” and “are you full?” To make you understand as a child what purpose food has and to get connected to you body and hunger cues. I’m at uni. and all the exchange students from the U.S. has lost so much weight during their stay here. They don’t break out chocolate bars anymore for the lectures, no soda either instead it’s water because that’s what us Swedish students are having. The candy has been swopped to fruit between meals for them and they all say how much more energy they have now. Lunch is a fresh salad from the campus restaurant and a coffee without sugar afterwards (before they ate at McDonalds, more soda and had cookies for dessert.
In Sweden the mindset is also. If you’re tired you go for a walk to gain energy rather than sleeping in the middle of the day.
I would love to know what kind of clothing Swedes wear outside walking or biking, when it's rainy, especially city folks. I've never been to Sweden, but it appears like you don't dress purely functionally?
I live in Germany, where the cliché is that many people wear their functional Jack Wolfskin Jacket's all year round even in the city, whereas in other country's more emphasis is put on style.
@@uneloutreaparis7669 If it’s raning people usually wear an umbrella and their regular clothes. Some will wear a raincoat because they ride their bike to school or work. Kids wear rubber boots/wellies and rain clothes from top to bottom and often times little rain hats that are super cute.
Adults wear sneakers or low rain shoes (like a cut off rubber boot that stops by the ankle). In the city people don’t wear hiking attire when it’s bad weather, but in the country side where it gets a bit more muddy during rain you will often see adults in lighter boots (not a typical hiking boot). Swedes dress pretty stylish and unless people here go hiking you won’t see them in hiking attire. Fjällräven raincoats is a thing for many, but those are something people whip out when the weather is really bad.
It’s really diverse and you shouldn’t be surprised if you saw someone being caught in the rain and they run for shelter while holding their briefcase over their head to protect their hairstyle😂
I loved this! It's really refreshing to hear someone address these differences in a normal way, without sounding like your criticizing or shaming people who are obese.
Awesome video, thank you for bringing content that we (those that don’t travel…yet!!) would otherwise not know!!
I couldnt agree with this video more! I'm American but have been fortunate enough to live in Italy and Greece and noticed all of the same things. I'm working really hard to move back to Europe. It's not perfect and there are plenty of frustrations, but the daily quality of life is unbeatable. ❤
As an American who has lived in Finland for 5 years, I completely agree with all of this (Finnish health and food culture are very similar to Swedish)! I would also add two points. 1- while there are mega stores, most of the time I buy groceries from the smaller markets in my neighborhood. Therefore, they simply don't have space to stock a ton of processed foods. 2- because I don't drive here, I have to be a lot more mindful of what I buy because it can get heavy to carry home/I only have the ability to carry so much. You never see people buying cases of soda because it would be horrible to have to carry it home!
For Sweden, have you noticed if society has an ideal look like in America/Canada? I love the way you put this video out. I have struggled with an ED for years and I'm still healing, so thank you for not deeming anything good, bad, guilty, or not guilty. 💜
Love the pictures from Sundsvall, rly looks good with the new buildings around the water.
In college my sociology class did a study on equity and happiness across all country’s, and the Scandinavian country’s crushed it every time. I think it definitely has something to do with how being healthy is part of their culture, plus universal health care and a general good treatment that all the citizens receive from the government. I have family there that I haven’t met, but want to visit so badly.
This was brilliant- so true what you have observed. This a culture they have developed and embedded and in the UK and USA we don’t have that to the same degree 😊
Your channel is one of my favorites! Thanks, Keltie :) I'm an American and as an American I've noticed various things in my travels that I've tried to adopt in my regular life. A couple of years ago I spent some time between Munich and Berlin visiting family, and a lot of my time was spent just walking - one of my favorite things to do when I go somewhere new. Yes, I love the sites, but I also love just getting out and walking and being among the locals. Here in the states I try to make sure I'm getting enough protein/fats/carbs (mainly because for a while I was not sure I was getting enough of what I needed because I was feeling fatigued...but also that's just...America) but something about bopping around Europe - eating healthy meals, walking to the grocery store, walking...everywhere, really - was so dreamy and sort of put out of mind the constant I HAVE TO WORKOUT AND EAT THESE SPECIFIC MACROS EVERYDAY. There was an ease to it and I just generally felt better and more energized just getting outside and not being in a car or under harsh lighting all day everyday.
Great, great video! Thank you so much for this content!
Hi Keltie! I am from Sweden and I agree with a lot of your points. It's a lifestyle, not a crash diet that you're gonna quit after 3 weeks (if you even make it that far). Also, your Swedish is not at all as bad as you make it out to be. You can just say "the System" and everyone will know that you're referring to Systembolaget 😉
Regarding #11. A funny story from when IKEA first opened a store in the US, some products were selling really badly while others were selling in ridiculous amounts. So the head office sent over a representative to visit their American store and have a look. What they discovered was that a lot of people stacked their carts full with flower vases to use as drinking cups, because the regular cups were deemed too small.
Wtf 😂😂
Appreciate you spreading this info. Good video! From 🇸🇪
Glad I got a Swede’s stamp of
Approval!
This is the first video I've seen of yours and I love the way you explain things and edit your videos (defo taking notes for my own channel)! Super informative and interesting too - I wish the Swedish way of living was implemented more around the world. Thanks for sharing!
Ever since I met my boyfriend, who met almost all of his best friends playing men’s league hockey, I’ve felt like there should be more opportunities for adults to keep playing sports in the US. So many people struggle to make friends as adults, meanwhile some of the adult leaguers at my bf’s rink are pushing 40, 50, 60 ect and still have these big friend groups of teammates that they see multiple times per week. It’s a mental health booster as well as a physical health one.
You have good observations when it comes to Canada, specifically Vancouver and Toronto, which are the 2 biggest cities and have a lot in common with many large American cities. But here in Québec, the lifestyle is closer to Europe with Montreal being one of the most bike-friendly cities in North America. Come hang out on a terasse in Montreal or Québec City, where I live. My treat! 😊
Your channel is so inspiring to me! Grateful ❤
Kelty, over the years you have helped me so so so much on my journey of developing a healthy relationship with food, fitness and body image. I’m sending this to my mom!
I am so happy I can be a part of you journey tori!!! Beyond proud you have developed a healthy relationship ship with those!! 🩵
I think I might start implementing the "only sweets on Saturday" rule. Seems like a good idea, and it makes dessert something to really look forward to!
hahaha im an american studying abroad in sweden right now so this was really interesting to see! of course fika has had me consuming way more pastries and baked goods, but overall i do think there are a variety of accessible foods in the grocery stores. although the winter from january - april this year made me wayy more sedentary
this was a great video keltie!
It open my mind. Thank you so much for this video!!!
Great video! It really shows the difference in culture and it certainly plays are role in health. I look at America as somewhere they want to feed you bad habits and then sell you the medication for it. As someone from England (Indian heritage), I know that the English considered to have a big drinking culture. We certainly do and it shows when we go to other European countries as they have plenty of bad stories about us. I've always thought of countries like Sweden and the surrounding to be the most advanced culturally. They seem to really think about their people. They're intelligent, knowing that a healthy, motivated person will be not only better culturally but also more productive. Everything in your vid is not surprising at all.
That comparison of kids in Sweden associating fitness with the festival versus kids in North America associating it with getting yelled at by a gym teacher hit home. Gym class was such a miserable experience for me. It was all about competition. The few times we did activities like yoga and dance I enjoyed it, but even then we had people in class ruining it by making fun of the activity. I never had the issues with food that a lot of Americans talk about, but I've found it so hard to develop a fitness routine.
Wow amazing video!! I do at the moment a internship in Schweden for half a year and i love their Lifestyle.
What a wonderful video! Thank you for depicting sensitivity and intelligence when it comes to weight.
In terms of losing weight, my husband and I have found it goes in this order of importance: sleep, diet (high fiber, lots of veggies), and exercise. The US culture and economy runs on the myth of overwork being a virtue. Sweden has a culture built around valuing enjoying life in general.
Hi from Norway! We're next to Sweden and have many of the same traits. Also saturday candy and Vinmonopolet (Monopoly of Wine), but as in Sweden beer are sold in grocery stores. As mentioned here in the comments, in Sweden free, healthy lunch are served in schools, which we don't have in Norway. But everybody in Norway have packed lunches: sandwiches, veggies and fruits, and just milk or water. Pops with sugar are not allowed, and vending machines in schools can not have pops. Candy or cakes can not be eaten in schools or kindergarten. "Everybody" does sports, at all ages, at the same rate as in Sweden. And we walk and bike a lot, it a virtue. On the OECD obesity rate you find Norway lower than Sweden (Norway: men 11, women 8 - Sweden both genders 10). But there are a big differences between richer and poorer (we don't have real poverty...) and between urban or rural districts (more obesity in the rural, they drive more and are less educated).
That's really accurate! Love you Norwegians! Love from 🇸🇪
Love your videos. This was so fun to watch
The audio here is top notch, great job on the video 🍀
It's interesting that you mention how a lot of people in North America view candy once a week as restrictive. That seems very balanced to me! A fun treat on the weekend while avoiding highly processed foods for the most part.
No need to demonize sweets or fast food but every single day? Instead of snacking on fruit? I'm all for moderation which also means not indulging ALL the time. At that point it's just a bad habit 😂 Balance goes both ways.
this is fascinating to me as I was born and raise din Canada (lived rural and urban including Toronto and Vancouver!). Everything you mentioned are habits I was raised with to some extent, or try to adopt in life. And yet, I am obese (no one knows why, it happened pretty suddenly, it's a weird health thing; I was a very healthy weight most of my life until late 20s). I think the stress piece, both you and other commenters have mentioned it, is such a big part of it, as well as the other aspects that effect social determinants of health. even if, as an individual, you adopt all these habits but your environment is still very stressful that environment can still impact. I don't want to take away from the video at all, I just hope that folks see this and realize that we need to make some structural and more broad social changes to tackle obesity.
Obesity is multifactorial to an extent but it seems like people in English speaking countries are now being told you can't really affect it as it is genetic, social or a disease. Probably because they're planning to sell everyone medicine for it.
Yes, stress will increase your cortisol levels which will reduce sensitivity to insuline which will increase blood sugar levels. This will affect weight. But in total maybe this will account for a few percentage of the total excess fat. The number one factor is still calories in, calories out. Sorry if I'm blunt but I'm Swedish and it's not a very sensitive topic here.
@@Bolcjek I don't care if you are blunt I just don't know what your comment has to do with mine. Relevant for the video perhaps but I do not understand the connection with what I specifically wrote.
@@V1sual3y3z I thought you blamed the stress specifically for weight gain. Perhaps it wasn't meant that way. English is not my main language.
@@Bolcjek I highlighted it as a factor that is not often given enough importance, among other social determinants of health (the government of Canada lists 12), in my experience. And even if I did only blame stress, I was speaking to my personal experience and you are not my doctor nor do you know more than what I shared, so disagreeing with my personal experience seems kind of silly. I stated that all the other piece were in place and I still gained weight, so your comment was directly contradicting what I said about my experience which you cannot know anything about and therefor cannot evaluate. I was using my experience to highlight how calories in calories out is actually overly simplistic and unhelpful when there are so many other factors at play. SO, hopefully you now see how your comment and assumptions were not helpful in this instance, as they do not provide any further depth of knowledge or understanding. If you decided to make this comment as a response to the video and not my comment it may have been more relevant.
@@V1sual3y3z I'm not your doctor indeed, but I am a doctor. There are indeed other factors at play than calories in and out but they're given too much importance as a way for people to feel like it's not their fault. Medicine will disagree with peoples personal experiences unfortunately. Even with a mix of untreated hypothyreosis, stress, adverse effects from say ssri/mirtazapine and on top of that cushings syndrome its still calories in calories out. Above factors may cause you to tolarate less calories in or the result will be weight gain. I did watch the video and the points are mainly social factors that make you eat less and move more which directly translates to calories.
A huge theme I am hearing is integrating social and emotional health into daily life- lunches at work, fika, sports and activities.
Great video and nice editing:) Have been living in Sweden since 5 years now but never wondered why they do things they do in a particular way💪
Great video. I always get so incredibly jealous of this kind of lifestyle. In the U.S. if I happen to injure myself doing an activity I love, I'd have to declare bankruptcy. I think the lack of basic healthcare is a major factor in all of this.
We do pay a lot of taxes (Finland) for almost free healthcare and other more specific insurances on top of it, but i do agree with you that it creates this safety net, that if and when something happens, you don’t have to pay a large sum of money to get treated. Also I like that everyone is on the same level when it comes to health care, you get almost free health care no matter your financies. But I’ve heard a lot of people from the US would’t want to pay more taxes in order to create a more wellfare society-like model.
@@nellivilhelmiina Yeah people don't love change. Which I get on one hand. On the other, I'd gladly pay higher taxes if it meant everyone had the safety and security of healthcare. Seems like a human right to me.
Another thing that (I think) plays in (not to stick my hand in a wasps nest, but here we go) is that certain ingredients are added to food in North America that are forbidden in the EU and even more than that are forbidden in Denmark (where I live). I can't help but wonder if some of those ingredients might have an influence on either the satiety factor or hormones or something else that matters in terms of obesity.
In Denmark we talk a lot about how certain retail items (such as clothes, light bulbs, toys, etc.) are built to break, so consumers will buy more... I can't help but wonder if perhaps, in some cases, processed foods have something added to them to make people eat more, as in, feel less satiated. Just wondering, that's all.
I did not expect to see you show stores & restaurants in Sundsvall! Hello!
I loved this video! It's just so necessary to talk about this!
Thank you Gabriela!
Just text my boss to implement Fika to help with our nurse burn out- absolutely love this idea
I fully support this, FIKA FOR ALL NURSE’S!!
I actually laughed out loud at this comment. Me imagining actually ENJOYING my coffee instead of chugging it cold mid shift as a way of powering through another wild short staffed day ✌🏼
It makes me so damn sad the way food is priced in Canada and how many folks get left behind in that equation because they have to choose eating healthy over other necessities like paying the rent or electrical bill. Loved the video ❤
I'm just curious how it is things are priced in Canada, would be interested in knowing how it is your country is having an inflation issue.... here in the US unfortunately we have a clown show running the gov. that's forcing the inflation (I won't get into it on kelties channel just purely out of respect for her but if curious let me know, i'll let ya know a way to contact).... ironically you keep ending up at the top on my feed on kelties vids lol, hope things are well
@@jonsmith9728 I've tried to respond to this twice, but it won't let me for some reason. Big driver on food inflation is corporate greed, full stop. We have two billionaire families that heavily influence our grocery market. And sadly no Government of the past or current seems to want to f*CK with them, so they have gotten bigger overtime and now control a lot of their own supply chain. Look up bread price fixing scandal in Canada to get a sense of what douch canoes these grocery gods can be. For context I'm a Canadian CPA and small business owner that sells a consumer product for homes (grocery stores aren't our competitor or market place), so I've been directly involved in our own price increases in response to inflation. I also hate billionaires getting rich on the backs of our most vulnerable populations so I'm decidedly biased here 🙃
This was great. Thank you for sharing! 🤗🤗🤗
Thank you for watching! 🩵
Excellent info! Thank you!
Im from sweden but i spent a few years in australia to study. I rode my bike to school everyday cause thats what im used to, it was 6km one way, everyday, and my aussie friends thought i was crazy 🤣 all of them drove to school and had been doing that since they could get a license. Its all about how we're raised and what we feel is the "normal" thing to do. Like going for a 60 min walk with my dog everyday was normal for me, but my aussie bf almost died 🤣
A lot of Australians ride a bike to high school or walk. In North Queensland there are many bike racks outside school but it gets really hot in summer so people may ride less then.
Australia is a very big country so it’s not the same everywhere. Where did you live?
@cathyanderton1583 I lived in Brisbane, Toowoomba and broken Hill :)
That candy store looks so fun! 🍭
Okay I’m down w a Venti coffee, but I have been working on portion sizes with my food to improve my diet while staying balanced and not restrict by any specific foods. I haven’t “lost weight” but I am already feeling a difference in my body from shifting my portions!
You obviously need to do a Spain one! 🇪🇸 I also think you should go check out Costa Rica. Exploring the “Pura Vida” lifestyle would be an awesome video!! 🇨🇷
The candy stores are THE BEST!! Wow I’d love to do a Spain episode too 😍
Also love the idea with being aware of portion sizes while working towards balance 👏
I’m a Vancouverite who’s just moved to the UK and I’ve already lost like 5 lbs in a month. We walk everywhere. Cities are older in the UK/Europe, and naturally weren’t built for cars. So we walk around everywhere! Loved watching this comparison video, super cool!
Nice video. I live in Sweden ,planning on living half time in North America & half time in Sweden. This video made me like my home country a bit more,which will make it easier to come back.
I am Canadian but currently in the US for grad school (studying public health!) and you've hit on a lot of points that have empirical evidence to support it! Like lack of walkable cities and aggressive food marketing being linked to obesity in the US. I also think from a policy nerd perspective the US does not have universal health care and this is a HUGE factor. In Canada (or Sweden) if I started gaining weight I would go to my doctor, get hormones checked etc., if you don't have that financial privilege in the US, you won't go. I also think portion sizes even between the US and Canada are noticeably different, which I didn't really anticipate.
All this to say, obesity is indeed wildly complex, but I think you hit the nail on the head that it's significantly easier to live a healthy lifestyle in Sweden or other parts of Europe then it is in parts of Canada and much of the US. Love your videos as always :)