How do those Europeans do it? (BMI, exercise, broke, foods)

[kgordeeva]

Because bread doesn't make you fat. This is just something Americans invented. It's all about portion control. You can eat whatever you want and not get fat as long as you don't eat too much of it.

[charlygal]

Originally Posted by Luckyd609

No its not. If you read my post through you would see that I said that people should do whatever works for them. And I was just in London and Paris and I did not see one obese person. In America they are everywhere. I have traveled throughout the United States and the MAJORITY of people are either fairly overweight or obese. The slim people are the minority.

We have tons of fast food and super sizes. We eat crap in this country and it shows. When you match junk foods and sodas with sedentary lifestyles you are going to get fat.
I am sure there are overweight people in Europe, but I didn't see ANY when I was there. Maybe there are all hiding.
Kuwait had normal sized people until we came over and put in fast food restaurants. They love fast food. Now the obesity rate in Kuwait is 48.2%

There are obese Europeans. Go to YouTube and watch the UK show Fat Doctor. Obesity is growing in UK, Europe, Australia, Middle East, India, etc.

[guidoLaMoto]

I spent 7 months in Italy (40 y/a): portion sizes were much, much smaller than we're accustomed to-- food was very expensive compared to here. Junk food snacks were never seen. Order a pizza and you got a little flour tortilla with a single slice of tomato, one leaf of artichoke and a single olive. Order "una Coka" and you got a 6 oz glass. Beef was a rarity. I only weighed 175 lb but felt like King Kong there.

[lukas1973]

In my opinion it has far less to do with the kind of food or the amount of food that people eat but all the more with the level of movement.
There is not a huge difference between the amount of food that people eat. Americans consume far more sugar, but far less fat, compared to other developed countries. For example Germans eat 32% more fat, but 19% less sugar.

[mountainrose]

Much less junk food and very little soda drinks and sugar.

[Luckyd609]

The sodas over there are in small bottles or slim cans. They are much smaller. And there are plenty of patisseries that have wonderful confections. But people eat one, not a bag full or a sleeve of cookies.

[Luckyd609]

Originally Posted by charlygal

There are obese Europeans. Go to YouTube and watch the UK show Fat Doctor. Obesity is growing in UK, Europe, Australia, Middle East, India, etc.

Of course there are obese people there, but much less than the US. It is an epidemic here. We eat more junk food in larger quantities than most other countries.

Here is a list of the fattest countries:

1 Palau 47.10%
2 Nauru 45.10%
3 Marshall Islands 42.30%
4 Samoa 41.60%
5 Tonga 41.10%
6 Qatar 41.00%
7 Kiribati 40.10%
8 Tuvalu 39.60%
9 Kuwait 38.30%
10 Bahamas, The 36.60%
11 Fiji 35.90%
12 United States 35.00%
13 United Arab Emirates 34.50%
14 Bahrain 34.10%
15 Saudi Arabia 33.70%
16 Barbados 33.20%
17 Micronesia, Federated States of 33.20%
18 Vanuatu 32.90%
19 Trinidad and Tobago 32.30%
20 Andorra 32.10%
21 Libya 31.90%
22 Antigua and Barbuda 31.00%
23 Lebanon 30.80%
24 New Zealand 30.60%
25 Canada 30.10%
26 Australia 29.90%
27 United Kingdom 29.80%
28 Turkey 29.40%
29 Czech Republic 29.10%

[Jame22]

Originally Posted by Luckyd609

I just find it interesting that the French eat bread, the Italians eat pasta, and Asians eat rice and none of those countries have the obesity problem that we have here.

I just went to Italy, the Italians may not be as obese as us but they sure aren't in shape. Most of the middle aged people are skinny fat, or just overweight but not obese. I wasn't impressed at all..I think the whole thing about Americans being in poor health is blown out of proportion. Walking everywhere may make you lighter but it's not necessarily going to get you in good shape.

[glamatomic]

Another thing to note is that High Fructose Corn Syrup isn't used as commonly in Europe- it exists but isn't as prevalent as it is here in the U.S.

[glamatomic]

Originally Posted by Vision67

I also think they suffer much less stress. In the USA, most everyone lives in constant fear of losing a job, healthcare and house. Their social welfare system is more comprehensive.

I think you may be on to something. It is also interesting to note that on average, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Japan among other 'slimmer' countries have shorter average work weeks than the U.S. Additionally, the EU mandated vacation time is 4 weeks, and some European countries give in excess of this. Most Americans only get 2 weeks paid vacation, and almost a quarter get none at all. That surely boosts up stress levels.