Get out of the car to prevent obesity! Wired’s Autopia blog reports on a new study that shows obesity rates are markedly lower in countries where people walk, bike, or use mass transit.
As you might have guessed, Americans don’t fare too well in this study: “Overall, the study found, Europeans walk three times as far and cycle five times as far as Americans” — which helps explain why as many as one in three Americans are obese.
In fact, Lloyd Alter at Treehugger’s put together a list of seven things that make you fat — and more than half of the items on this list are directly related to driving instead of opting for more sustainable transit issues.
Suburb dwellers, for example, are more likely to be fat than city dwellers because suburbanites don’t have walkable neighborhoods or easy access to public transportation. Relatedly, the McMansions that tend to spring up in the suburbs, and the cheap gas that makes suburban car-centric living possible, are both cited as fattening lifestyle factors.
Of course, the ‘burbs are also home to some hardcore cyclers who reap the health, environmental, and financial benefits of de-car-ing. Just read Paula of Righteous Velo-Metal Broad’s Car Free Mondays interview to find out how her bke commuting habit helped her drop 60 pounds!
Photo by Jeremy Brooks
oh, it’s 90 pounds now…
But then, that might change seeing as how I’m dating a great guy (dating = eating more) and it’s the holiday season (eating a lot more).
Thanks for the shoutout Siel!
Comment by Righteous Metal Broad — December 16, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
Are you biking in the rain?
Comment by Siel — December 17, 2008 @ 6:21 pm
oh dear no, while I don’t mind riding when it’s sprinkling/drizzing out, I do not like riding when it’s storming like today. I either carpool with coworkers or take the bus when it’s this bad.
I have a waterproof hooded parka that I can wear while riding in the rain, but it’s hard to turn my head and look behind myself when I have the hood on. So I’ve been thinking about getting a shower cap for my helmet and just wear the parka with the hood down. The parka is great when I am caught in the rain. You can get one at Target for $8. I hope to get a proper rain cape one day.
I decided to carpool with a friend today (because it’s pretty bad, as you know). And my umbrella BROKE on the way to my friend’s house, damn cheap umbrella. I love walking in the rain, stomping in rain puddles. You can’t ride in rain puddles, not safe for your tires, you know…
ho hum
Comment by Righteous Metal Broad — December 17, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
saying that biking and walking will make you thin is not true. i gained weight when i was biking and riding the bus. i know bus riders who walk a lot more than i do, and are heavy. what makes you gain weight is eating a lot of food.
there are also two things that really exacerbate weight gain (and muscle atrophy) — working too much, and getting so sick you can’t move much. poverty and lack of health care can cause weight gain.
Comment by faker — December 29, 2008 @ 11:02 pm