Where'd All the Fat People Go?

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In front of my favorite door in Germany! LOL

  Ok, that may seem harsh...but there's no nice way to put it. The first thing I notice when I get back to Europe is exactly that: why are there no obese people here? And it's always the first thing that comes to mind when I step foot back onto an American soil. So WHY is this the case?

  Believe me, it's NOT because Europeans eat any healthier than Americans. They enjoy their cakes, bread, cheese, pasta, ice cream, beer/wine, candy, chocolate, ETC! just as much as we do (you should see the candy aisles in Europe!!! 1 entire aisle for chocolate, and 1 aisle for gummy candy, like Haribo). You walk by a cafe here in Dunkerque at anytime in the afternoon, you're guaranteed to see table full of people enjoying a bowl full of frites (french fries), a beer, or a crepe,
or maybe all three!

CANDY in Sweden! All those bins are filled with candy.

  So if they're not necessarily eating any healthier, what gives?

  One thing you can chalk it up to, I think, is the walking lifestyle versus the driving lifestyle. Space comes at a premium in European cities. That means there aren't giant parking lots around every corner here in Dunkerque waiting to be filled with errand-runners and their cars. I've been in enough cities in Europe to realize this is a commonplace, and not just specific to one particular country or town.  So when a person has numerous errands to run, they park their car in a central location (or maybe they walk, or take the bus into town), they get out, and they walk. So most of their time is spent walking, not in a car.

  In the U.S. however, when we have errands to run, we might spend 75% (??) of our time driving in our car, going from stop to stop. Say we have five places to go to on a given afternoon. More times than not, that's going to mean five times parking the car, isn't it? Blame it on the strip malls, I don't know. But how many of us are guilty of driving our cars across the street to another parking lot when it'd be just as easy to walk? Sure it might be faster and more convenient. But what is that convenience costing us?

Plaza in Wroclaw, Poland.

  Another related reason, is simply where most of the people live and how the cities are designed. It's city-living versus suburb-living. In Europe, most of the people live in apartments in the city. Whereas in the States, the majority live in residential/suburban areas. I'm not citing any facts today, so I'm just basing this on my observations. Again, this makes it easier for someone living in Europe to walk down the street to the market or the cafe. While those 'lazy Americans' (you know the stereotype) get in their cars, and drive a couple miles to the same places.

Can't drive, gotta walk! Luleå, Sweden.

  The third, and probably the most significant reason obesity rates in Europe pale in comparison to those in the U.S., is the grocery store experience. This opens up a whole new can of worms, and I'll be writing more about this at a later date. But it IS the main culprit in my opinion. It's the foods on our shelves and in our aisles that are doing us the most harm.

 I'm the first to complain how quickly my vegetables go bad when I'm in Europe; or when the loaf of bread I just bought has mold growing on it five days later. There's a reason for that. There are less (or no?) chemicals and preservatives used in food in Europe. It's the dreaded GMO (genetically modified organism) debate. Our bodies were never meant to break down chemicals, so in turn it doesn't know how to! But again, that's a blog for a later date.

  Less preservatives and chemicals equal shorter shelf-life. Foods don't sit on the shelves in the grocery stores for six months (or more!!). Then in turn, sit in our cabinets for another two months.

How awesome is this street?!?! Wolfenbüttel, Germany.

   That's why you see Europeans making more frequent visits to the store. Several times a week it is necessary to take a trip to the grocery store for meat, bread, milk, fruits, and vegetables. Yeah, you get tired of having to go to the store so often. But if you keep in mind that you're getting fresher foods as a pay off, it's something you can get used to doing!

  I'm lucky enough to be able to spend a good amount of time living in both the U.S. and in Europe. It's given me the opportunity to appreciate the good things about both places, and realize that both have their deficiencies too (yes, I've found there ARE negatives to the European way of living as well -- in MY opinion!).

Elin about to enjoy a scrumptious cake and 'coffee'.

  Living in Europe promotes moving and a healthier way to live. That's just the lifestyle, and that's what people are used to. While we as Americans can't do much to change the lay-out of our cities, we CAN make the effort to walk to the store (or wherever!!) when we can, and DEMAND that our food be free of harmful chemicals.

~ Sabrina