Health in Germany: Interview with Dr. Alexander Springer, III

This week we conclude the three-part interview with Dr. Alex Springer, pediatric surgeon from Münster, Germany.

COLLEEN THOMAS: How does the German diet affect the health of the German people?

HERR DOKTOR ALEXANDER SPRINGER: As I mentioned before, modern man suffers from the lifestyle. Many foods are known to be not very healthy, especially in the traditional German diet: fatty sausages, pork, meat loaf, beer and schnapps. But there also pretty healthy German foods: sauerkraut, Kohl (cabbage), fruits and so on.

On the other side, young Germans live under the influence of globalization: they consume fast food, pizza, hamburgers, fries, Coca Cola.

Actually, there is an alternative Green ecological movement existent in Germany with a strong suspicion against industrialized food production and genetic modified goods. They believe in the alternative way of agriculture using no pesticides or fertilizers. Some of them are vegetarians.

COLLEEN THOMAS: Germans seem to spend quite a bit of time doing outdoor activities: swimming and bike riding are popular activities. Does this help to balance out the effects of their heavy diets? Could you elaborate on this?

HERR DOKTOR ALEXANDER SPRINGER: You are right: Germans love to spend time outdoor for swimming, riding the bicycle and hiking and I agree that they do it for health.

Another explanation, besides the healthiness of outdoor activities, why Germans like to be outside could be the size of our country: Since our country is so small nearly all Germans live in cities and nature becomes a precious good.

An interesting phenomenon are the Schrebergärten in the former GDR (East Germany): Lots of East Germans had and have a small piece of land with garden and a shack (often localized near rail tracks) where they grew some vegetables and spent there leisure time as a kind of outdoor activity. It is an interesting phenomenon because you could consider these small gardens with their idyllic harmony as an inner exile for the people in the totalitarian political system of the GDR like 170 years earlier in Germany in the Biedermeier period.

COLLEEN THOMAS: Please compare the above with the American lifestyle.

HERR DOKTOR ALEXANDER SPRINGER: American lifestyle! Some prejudices: America is freedom. The symbol of freedom is the automobile. Sports is fine, outdoor activities are welcome but all in all the American loves to be motorized. When I once was in Miami I was astonished about the lack of public transportation system - the car definitely is important for survival in the USA.

On the other side the USA is the Sportsnation of the world. Sports has nowhere the importance than it has in America.

The copyright of the article Health in Germany: Interview with Dr. Alexander Springer, III in Germanic Culture is owned by Colleen Thomas Ryor. Permission to republish Health in Germany: Interview with Dr. Alexander Springer, III in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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