> Why? An apples-to-apples comparison would be to see how long it takes to become a general physician after completing secondary school.

Because if the requirement in the US is indeed "bachelor's degree required, any will do", then it exists solely for gate-keeping and says nothing about the standards of education.

Edit: looking at wiki, the requirements are actually a bit more reasonable, but it does seem strange that they are not just rolled into the first year (or two) of medical degree. Why force people to finish undergrad studies if only a few courses are relevant?

Not at all, because the question at hand was 'how long does it take to train to be an doctor in the US'. I don't understand why one would include time spent training to be something else? It is like saying 'it took me 30 years to learn to code, 3 months on Udemy and 29 years learning to solve problems as a carpenter'.

Premed is gatekeeping, and not all countries enforce that form of gatekeeping.