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This episode is supported by 23andMe/.
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There are currently 7.5 billion people alive on Earth,
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of which 323 million live in the United States of America
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As a global powerhouse, many have an opinion on the American Lifestyle.
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But what do the statistics say,
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and what would actually happen if we all lived like Americans?
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First off you would be having more sex.
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Surveys indicate that Americans have sex 138 times per year on average
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which is the second highest in the world behind France.
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Porn would also be even more abundant as 73 percent of the world's porn is produced in America.
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Americans drive thirteen thousand four hundred and seventy-six (13,476) miles per year,
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which is the most in the world.
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This explains why they have the highest rates of vehicle collisions worldwide
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and number of meals eaten in a car.
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Seriously. Statistics show that twenty percent of American meals are consumed in a vehicle.
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Americans eat eight ounces of meat per day on average
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which is almost double the world average.
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This leads to Americans killing and eating 10 billion animals annually,
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which is 15 percent of the world's total consumption.
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The average American also drinks 403 Coca Cola products per year
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compared to the world's average which is 92.
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This all contributes to the U.S. having the highest total caloric intake, sugar intake, and fat intake compared to all of the other 16 wealthiest countries.
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But consumption is similar in one category: fruit and vegetable consumption.
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And all of this eating contributes to trash.
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Americans throw out 1.6 billion pens and 220 million car tires per year.
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An individual American produces 729 kilogrammes of garbage per year
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of which 544 kilograms is organic waste.
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This means that the population of America which is roughly 5% of the world, generates 40% of the world's waste.
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For most of the world, the American Lifestyle would mean living longer.
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The U.S. life expectancy is 82.1 years for women, and 77.5 for men.
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But it still only ranked 42nd in the world behind other industrialized nations like Australia and Canada.
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This is likely because these countries have better publicly funded health care.
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The median age in the United States is 37.9
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meaning if you divided the whole population of America into two equal groups,
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half of the people would be younger that 37.9,
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and half of the people would be older.
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America is defined as having an ageing population in that the world's median age is lower at 30.1.
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Niger has the lowest median age at 15.3 years old,
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compared to Japan, where the ageing population could become an issue
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as their median age is 46.9.
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The lifestyle of an American requires about ten liters of oil per day.
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But some other developed countries consume even more on average, like Canadians, who use 10.2 litres per day,
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while some of the lowest consumers of oil are Bangladeshis who only use 0.1 litres per day.
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A direct way of measuring the impact of the worlds witching to an American lifestyle is using the global hectare.
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This measurement looks at how much land, sea and other natural resources are needed to produce what each person consumes per year.
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For example: the rice they eat, the shelving unit they buy, or the clothes they wear.
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The average person in the world uses 2.7 global hectares per year.
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The highest is the lifestyle of those in Kuwait who use 8.9 global hectares annually,
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with the U.S. trailing slightly behind with 6.8 global hectares per year.
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With the amount of CO2 released from this,
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studies show that we would need another half of an Earth
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in order to absorb it at a safe rate.
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Although other studies suggests that these are underestimations.
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So you can imagine if we were all living like Americans,
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it would be catastrophic.
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In fact we would need 4.1 Earths in order to sustain everyone living like an American.
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Special thanks to 23andMe for sponsoring this video.
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If you've ever wanted to understand your own DNA,
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and see which regions of the world your ancestors come from,
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or how your DNA influences physical traits and health
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then check out 23andMe/asap
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We've tried it ourselves and found out that Gregg has a lot of neanderthal DNA,
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while Mitch found out why he loves pizza so much.
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All you have to do is spit in a tube,
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and they'll analyse your 23 pairs of chromosomes which is where the name comes from.
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Again, head to 23andMe/asap to learn more about yourself now.