I wonder if its just coincidence that people are getting sicker. Germans are now eating a very american diet, and many are not eating the traditional foods, now they are getting the same health problems as America, Britan and Aus. I have French and German relatives in Europe, they are very healthy, seem to never get sick or have weight issues. They eat oodles of fats and much of what they eat is fresh food they produce themselves (mostly live in rural areas). When I visit and stay with them I eat the same food, and I am amazed that I'm not the size of a house when I return to Aus, in fact on many occassions I've actually lost weight. Both my parents became ill when we came back to Aus after living in Asia, this started when they started eating the 'western diet'.