I am late publishing a monthly blog as my family spent three weeks in Europe visiting four countries (Netherlands, France, Austria and Croatia). While it has been 10 years since returning to Europe, I was even more "hit in the face" at how much slimmer Europeans are compared to North Americans.
The food was very similar to what we would eat (McDonald's is everywhere), and they seem to eat more bread, cheeses and processed meats, but I found it difficult to see any native Europeans that were obese. An observation was also made of not only the higher amount of alcohol consumed (beer is cheaper than coke), but also the large number of smokers, particularly in Paris.
So why are the Europeans slimmer? My only conclusion can be that they walk more, as many do not own cars in the city, due to lack of parking and high cost, and also excellent transportation systems. In Amsterdam, they have also developed an impressive bike system, with bike lanes paralleling roads and bike parking lots. I had never seen women in short skirts and high heels bike before, but it can be done!
On spending time in rural Austria, however, I did find much more "weighty" people, as they were more reliant on vehicles. So a conclusion can be made, that we have to encourage more people to get out of their cars and on to their feet or bikes. This will only be possible if we have more compact cities, and also improved public transit. A three times expected load of the light rail transit system in one year happened in Vancouver after the Canada Line was constucted for the Olympics. So the old saying goes "build it and they will come"!
