Fat: The New Thin?
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According to statistics, sixty-six percent of U.S. adults are currently over weight. That number is expected to increase to seventy-five percent by 2015. Those numbers remain steady across both genders and all age groups and races.
Which really means, doesn’t it, that the new “average” body is in fact fat, and that an increasingly small minority of bodies actually reflect what the rest of us look like… making “fat” the new “thin,” albeit with unhealthy consequences.
Of course, the real question is why?
Some blame the U.S. “car culture” — we drive our children to schools wheras they once walked on their own; we hop in the car to drive to grocery stores because few are located within walking distance of quiet, suburban homes; we drive to and from work, spending longer and longer commute times (and often eating greasy, fast-food meals en route to save time).
By the time adults and children arrive home — mentally drained from the day, with housekeeping and homework still waiting — they’re often too tired to go for a walk, a bike ride, or to think about using the PS2 for something as strenuous as a half-hour of Dance, Dance Revolution.
It’s interesting to consider this information in light of the “French Paradox” — a national cuisine far more liberal with its use of butter, cream, cheese and other diet-killing fats… and yet a nation which until recently could boast that only 8 percent of its adult population was overweight. (That figure has since increased to 11%… still small in comparison with U.S. rates.)
Why?
Well, one thing I do remember from the time I spent in Paris was how very small life there was, much like in the U.S. in the 1950s. Laundry, dining, movies, groceries, hair stylists, book sellers, physicians and public green spaces were all within walking distance. Few people owned cars so if they needed to go somewhere further away than the 2- or 3-mile radius around their home they took the Metro… walking both to and from stops on either end of their journey.
Here in the U.S., studies have shown that a neighborhood’s composition can dramatically affect the weight of its residents:
* 90% of participants reported not walking at all. The average person in the study spent one hour or more per day in a car (driving or riding). Some spent more than five hours.
* People who lived in neighborhoods with shops and offices within walking distance were 35% less likely to be obese than people who lived in sprawling, residential-only suburbs.
* An average white male (height 5′10″) living in a compact community with nearby shops and services weighed 10 pounds less than a similar white male living in a low-density subdivision.
* Three out of every four people using mass transit had to walk to or from a stop, and were likely to get the surgeon general’s recommended 30 minutes per day of physical activity.
* For the average study participant, each kilometer walked (that’s just over a half mile) per day translated into an almost 5% reduction in the probability of being obese.
So why don’t Americans walk more?
The indoctrinated answer is that we’re lazy.
The real answer, however, may be that we can’t. Spread out neighborhoods, zoning and busy streets make it difficult, if not downright dangerous, to run errands on foot.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, rather than spending billions on waging “a war against obesity”, we spent the money instead helping cities help their residents by creating more pedestrian-friendly, “compact communities” which made walking not merely inviting but possible?
4 Responses to “Fat: The New Thin?”
While I wish I could walk more places, it is also a “can’t”. It’s not just about things not being close by, although that isn’t as much a problem. But with five kids in tow, having to grocery shop for a family of 7 and carry THAT much back home, just makes it less desireable to do. I do wish I had more motivation, and maybe as the seasons begin to change that too will change and I will be more motivated to walk to get my kids hair cuts, grocery store for small things, gas station for a drink, and uhm….well… I can’t think of anywhere else nearby except a home improvement store and lots of fast food.
I really liked this entry btw! It was informative and made me seriously think about walking more. *sigh* Now to find the time.
Thank you!
I’ve been thinking about this topic for quite some time now, especially since I live in what’s considered a smaller town — and yet the nearest grocery store is over 2 miles away. A 4-mile round trip with my little one in tow just does not sound enjoyable.
Back when I lived in Paris for a short time, there were markets within, oh, every quarter mile or so. No, they didn’t stock everything — like our super markets do — but they had fresh produce and the other essentials.
I often wonder if it’s a chicken-and-egg thing: do we buy high-cal, high-fat convenience foods because we, conveniently, don’t have to lug them home in our arms?
One way to make draw some interesting conclusions on the walking/compact community theory would be a comparison of weight/BMI (whatever measurement you want to use) big-city dwellers and the ‘burbs.
By the theory of walking, public transportation, market availability it would stand to reason that individuals in New York City would, on average, be thinner than, say, residents of Los Angeles (notorious for the number of drivers). I’d personally like to see a breakdown within the states instead of taking one lump number to such a vastly diverse nation of individuals.
We live IN the city (population approximately 60k) and are less than 5 miles from five grocery stories and countless pharmacies, etc. Like the other mom said — shop for 6+ people and see how you can lug home ANYthing. And we don’t buy much prepackaged anything anymore. There’s got to be more to the picture somewhere I think.
One of the articles I linked made the point that “crowded cities = more walking,” in part because the crowding amounts to more services within walking distance. They also found that such things do have a correspondence with lower BMI in residents.
That 5 mile trip may have been great for Grandma and Grandpa walking to school… up hill… both ways… in the snow… year round… as the joke goes. But in terms of being “walking distance” for daily functions, it’s not realistic.
OTOH, amenities within a 1-mile round trip? Not so hard. Especially if a community incorporates wide walking paths that would permit Moms to haul groceries in their kids’ little red wagon.