I don't want to derail this into a crazy huge off-topic & mostly opinionated thread... but there can be a bunch of things going on here. Do Italians have to deal with the same food issues that people in USA deal with?

- Is corn syrup in nearly all their breads/pasta?

- Do they create their pastas(and sauce) at home rather than USA's commonly TV-dinner style or high-processed fast foods?

- I suspect that what a low income person in Italy typical eats is very different from what a low income person in America typically eats.

- This... http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-carbo...

- Do they... [One million other things that make the common American's diet a horrible disaster]?