I always find it amusing when Europeans are held up as some ideal for moral or ethical comparison. I've found that the people who do that, generally haven't ever lived in Europe and have no idea what they're talking about.
I've only visited of course, probably half a year in total, mostly France, and I agree. They are thinner. One thing that amazed me is how openly racist educated people can be
en famile. Really hateful and racist, they - many of them - are quite open about it in ways you would never see in the US (at least not with folks I hang with). It isn't PC here, it is there, apparently.
They also smoke a lot, especially young females, to control weight. College there is viewed as being more of a privilege than some expectations, only the upper third of students go to college (a bit more) versus over 2/3rds here. They stream their kids in K-12 hard and once you are not college track, you are almost done.
Americans are far more egalitarian in their attitudes. The French, in my experience, are far more stratified and focus on social status and rank. They really look down on the lower classes, even the French farmers and whatnot.
I've noted before that folks I know there don't report crimes to the police, they have an extremely negative view of the local police. They think they are worthless and tell me that if you report a crime you are viewed as the problem by making them extra work, and they won't seek the perps anyway.
Of course there are a lot of things to like about France, I like their zoning laws better than ours, and their education system is nationalized, which has advantages.