Why is Belgium so Skinny?

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  • andrikosDE
    andrikosDE Posts: 383 Member
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    Should I be worried that my food intake is over 5000 grams per day?
    Of course that includes over 3 liters of water but still...
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I am Dutch and yes I like many before me I think it has a lot to do with our infrastructure. It is safe to cycle everywhere and also the walkways are in good order. Not only that but if there is an accident that involves a car and a bicycle or pedestrian the cardriver is considered to be at falt first. It helps and as a result a lot of activity is happening in the streets on a daily basis.
    We are a counrtry high in agriculture, specifically vegetables. I tend to think that this is one of the reasons why a lot of it is on our plates. Plus water is more popular than any soda here. It all helps

    Having said that I was reading something on the WHO report by Prof Jaap Seidell - he is the country’s foremost obesity specialist and researcher (http://www.vu.nl/en/research/topresearchers-at-vu/university-professors/seidell/index.asp) and he stated that yes overall the Netherlands seem to be lower in the obesity stakes but that there is a worrying trend visible which is income related. It seems that the obesity rates in the lower income classes are on the increase. Too bad his twitter feed (@jaapseidell) is in Dutch as it is constant feed of sensible scientificly sound papers and knowledge.

    I should add, I am prejudiced a little Prof Seidell was one of the teachers at my university - though at that stage he was still doing his PhD.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    ...
    Why is obesity in Saudi Arabia so high when their food consumption is relatively low?
    I know you will probably overlook this but Saudis are fat because they eat a lot of fast foods and go out to a lot of restaurants. There are a lot of American chains in Saudi Arabia. I have no idea why you think they consume so little calories....The population is generally sendentry because it's hot as he'll 80% of the year, people drive everywhere in their air conditioned cars. I have spent time in Saudi and generally people are fat and content.

    I don't want to overlook evidence but the dietary cluster that Saudi Arabia says they do indeed eat less than the U.S./Belgian diet. Your observations are anecdotal.

    Lol. Still not very good at this.

    The data isn't consumption, it is supply utilization, which can correspond to consumption, but the data you are referencing is not consumption.

    There is also nothing that says Saudi Arabia eats less than the US or Belgium in terms of calories or volume.

    Your observations are ignorant and show a distinct lack of ability to comprehend simple data sets
  • Bobbie63
    Bobbie63 Posts: 55 Member
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    When I was in Germany, I felt like I was the only fat person there. Not true of course, but walking is very normal there, taking the car for a 4 block trip to the store just didn't happen. I was talking to my friends grandmother, and she was laughing at a news article about a 40 hike some folks were doing for charity in the USA. She said, 40 miles, that's just a good start.
  • marcelo_templario
    marcelo_templario Posts: 653 Member
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    Yeah, biking has something to do with that, also they take their lunch to work avoiding over eating.
  • alysme
    alysme Posts: 81 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Belgium:
    People: 10,827,519
    Bicycles: 5,200,000
    Cyclists: ~48%
    In Belgium 8% of all trips are made by bike and 48% commute daily by bike. The average distance cycled per person per day is 0.9 km. In Belgium, cycling commuters are being paid 20 euro cents(29 U.S. cents) per kilometer, where as those in the Netherlands can earn 15 cents and participants in Britain up to 20 pence (32 U.S. cents) per mile -- all of it tax-free. In Belgium, a popular cycling nation and home to five-time Tour de France and Giro D'Italia winner Eddie Merckx, finance ministry figures show that more than 270,000 people took part in the scheme in 2010, up from 140,000 in 2006. In 2010, that meant the Belgian tax man paid out 43 million euros ($62 mln) to those who bill for cycling to work.


    Netherlands:
    People: 16,652,800
    Bicycles: 16,500,000
    Cyclists: ~99.1%
    In the Netherlands 27% of all trips and 25% of trips to work are made by bike. The average distance cycled per person per day is 2.5 km. Holland and bicycles go together like bread and jam. Despite the recession the cycle-happy Dutch are still spending a lot of money on their bicycles – nearly 1 billion euros’ worth a year. About 1.3 million bicycles were sold in the Netherlands in 2009, at an average price of 713 euros ($1,008) each. Amsterdam (the capital and largest city of the Netherlands) is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world. It has 400 km of bike lanes and nearly 40% of all commutes in Amsterdam are done on bike.

    Of course there's where i live:
    Denmark:
    People: 5,560,628
    Bicycles: 4,500,000
    Cyclists: ~80.1%
    In the Denmark 18% of all trips are made by bike.The average distance cycled per person is 1.6 km. Cycling is generally perceived as a healthier, cheaper, environmentally friendlier and often even quicker way to travel around towns than car or public transport and it is therefore municipal policy for the number of commuters by bike to go up to 40% by 2012 and 50% by 2015. In Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark) 37% of all citizens ride their bike on a daily basis. The local town hall even offers the visitors rental bikes for free.Interesting fact: the average travelling speed in Copenhagen is 16 kph for cyclists and 27 kph for cars.


    The fact of the matter is they have the infrastructure, knowledge, laws, and schemes in place to make being more active and riding to work the BETTER, easier, cheaper option.


    So to answer your question? They are significantly more active on a daily basis. Even if you aren't biking you are walking around more often than the average desk-job American.

    Well in all fairness, I live in NYC and we might as well be living in a box with how little space we get for what we pay so even though we really want bikes, we have no room. It's either a bike or a bed. Sigh.

    You need a Brompton... Amazing folding bikes from the UK.
  • alysme
    alysme Posts: 81 Member
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    KarenJanine wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    ?.. participants in Britain up to 20 pence (32 U.S. cents) per mile -- all of it tax-free.

    Do you have a source for this scheme in Britain? I wasn't aware of it and I've cycle commuted 10 miles per day for the last 6 years, so if it exists I want in!


    The scheme I am aware of is the 'cycle to work scheme' where employees are offered tax breaks on the cost of buying a new bike for commuting purposes. But the scheme is very flawed as it's actually a bike hire plan, where a sum is deducted from monthly salary pre-tax, but at the end of the 'hire' period, the cyclist must pay a lump sum if they want to keep the bike. Overall the savings are minimal (if anything) and when I looked into it I was better off purchasing a bike myself on a 0% interest credit card.

    I think this is when you claim expenses for a journey. So say I have a meeting out my office, but in the same town, I could cycle there and claim 15p per mile.
    Not just your regular commute... As you couldn't claim for it in a car.
  • rahovl
    rahovl Posts: 1 Member
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    fabian_chipper wrote: »
    Yeah, biking has something to do with that, also they take their lunch to work avoiding over eating.

    Is that such a weird thing to do? I figured people in other countries did this as well.

    I'm Belgian...I find this thread funny, to be honest. How I wish I was as skinny as the rest of Belgium apparently is. :lol:

  • nicolet789
    nicolet789 Posts: 10 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I am Dutch too and I agree with weavingtheweb: although a minority may be really obese, almost half of the population is overweight including me. But I recently read that we still have the best figures of Europe. Some factors that may contribute to that: 1) It's very common here to cycle to work, school, etc. The roads are safe for that (a lot of special bike roads). That is not seen as exercise, but as transport. 2) People tend to be tall and skinny (except for me). Maybe a genetic thing? 3) We consume a lot of dairy products and meat. Containing growth hormones (that may have caused people being so tall?). Maybe there is something associated with milk and weight. Maybe a more healthy bacterial population in your belly? This is pure speculation on my side.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Americans are sedentary. We are in a crisis. Over 50% of our population is overweight to obese, including our children.
  • nicolet789
    nicolet789 Posts: 10 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Belgium:
    People: 10,827,519
    Bicycles: 5,200,000
    Cyclists: ~48%
    In Belgium 8% of all trips are made by bike and 48% commute daily by bike. The average distance cycled per person per day is 0.9 km. In Belgium, cycling commuters are being paid 20 euro cents(29 U.S. cents) per kilometer, where as those in the Netherlands can earn 15 cents and participants in Britain up to 20 pence (32 U.S. cents) per mile -- all of it tax-free. In Belgium, a popular cycling nation and home to five-time Tour de France and Giro D'Italia winner Eddie Merckx, finance ministry figures show that more than 270,000 people took part in the scheme in 2010, up from 140,000 in 2006. In 2010, that meant the Belgian tax man paid out 43 million euros ($62 mln) to those who bill for cycling to work.


    Netherlands:
    People: 16,652,800
    Bicycles: 16,500,000
    Cyclists: ~99.1%
    In the Netherlands 27% of all trips and 25% of trips to work are made by bike. The average distance cycled per person per day is 2.5 km. Holland and bicycles go together like bread and jam. Despite the recession the cycle-happy Dutch are still spending a lot of money on their bicycles – nearly 1 billion euros’ worth a year. About 1.3 million bicycles were sold in the Netherlands in 2009, at an average price of 713 euros ($1,008) each. Amsterdam (the capital and largest city of the Netherlands) is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world. It has 400 km of bike lanes and nearly 40% of all commutes in Amsterdam are done on bike.

    Of course there's where i live:
    Denmark:
    People: 5,560,628
    Bicycles: 4,500,000
    Cyclists: ~80.1%
    In the Denmark 18% of all trips are made by bike.The average distance cycled per person is 1.6 km. Cycling is generally perceived as a healthier, cheaper, environmentally friendlier and often even quicker way to travel around towns than car or public transport and it is therefore municipal policy for the number of commuters by bike to go up to 40% by 2012 and 50% by 2015. In Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark) 37% of all citizens ride their bike on a daily basis. The local town hall even offers the visitors rental bikes for free.Interesting fact: the average travelling speed in Copenhagen is 16 kph for cyclists and 27 kph for cars.


    The fact of the matter is they have the infrastructure, knowledge, laws, and schemes in place to make being more active and riding to work the BETTER, easier, cheaper option.


    So to answer your question? They are significantly more active on a daily basis. Even if you aren't biking you are walking around more often than the average desk-job American.

    Well in all fairness, I live in NYC and we might as well be living in a box with how little space we get for what we pay so even though we really want bikes, we have no room. It's either a bike or a bed. Sigh.

    Hang the bike on the wall! Instead of a painting.
  • lisafrancis888
    lisafrancis888 Posts: 119 Member
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    Bikes are used by majority for everyday things, going to work, school, activities etc.
    In the USA it's seen as recreation.
    The truth is we no longer burn calories in our daily lives.
    We now even eat calories back for walking. I'm not saying walking is bad it's great exercise but 30 years ago was not even thought of as exercise. It was simply what people did to get somewhere.
  • compass172
    compass172 Posts: 15 Member
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    I lived in the US since birth until March 2014. Due to genetics, medical issues, and eating disorders- my weight fluctuated all over the place, even since joining MFP a few years back. Currently I am part of the "overweight" population in the Netherlands. There are a fair amount of overweight people here, but you rarely see someone who is "morbidly obese". My theory for there being a lot of overweight people, despite the less processed foods, and overall activity- is that people eat more dairy and meats now than they used to. While many traditional Dutch eat mainly bread all day, this has changed over recent years. I've lost and then gained while here because you can't really get away from the massive amounts of cheese, fast food, street food, and frites! Now that I have stuck to a more balanced diet I am in the best shape I have been in years. The food quality is better and for some I think genetics has to do with it. My partner is Portuguese and he can't gain weight even if he tries, and he's grown up with Dutch food.
  • nicolet789
    nicolet789 Posts: 10 Member
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    sodakat wrote: »
    I saw some people interviewed by researchers trying to determine what made a country score higher on the happiness scale. The winning country that year was the Netherlands. The people interviewed seemed rather stumped on why they scored so high, explaining that in general they don't live extravagant lives, often rent instead of own, often don't own motor vehicles and are heavily taxed.

    Finally one guy said, "I think maybe our expectations are rather low, so we are easily pleased, which makes us happy."

    For some reason that stuck with me.

    Haha the Dutch are down to earth people. But also: the country is safe, there is financial security, we work less hours than Americans, so maybe in general less stress factors. That can make you more happy: not as in extremely happy, but as in less miserable, just being content.
  • nicolet789
    nicolet789 Posts: 10 Member
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    nicolet789 wrote: »
    I am Dutch too and I agree with weavingtheweb: although a minority may be really obese, almost half of the population is overweight including me. But I recently read that we still have the best figures of Europe. Some factors that may contribute to that: 1) It's very common here to cycle to work, school, etc. The roads are safe for that (a lot of special bike roads). That is not seen as exercise, but as transport. 2) People tend to be tall and skinny (except for me). Maybe a genetic thing? 3) We consume a lot of dairy products and meat. Containing growth hormones (that may have caused people being so tall?). Maybe there is something associated with milk and weight. Maybe a more healthy bacterial population in your belly? This is pure speculation on my side.

    And 4) the water quality is very high. You can drink it from the tap. So we first drink water if we are thirsty (or tea, coffee, also with tap water) and may add soda or other drinks later just for the sake of variety.
  • Lizzipoos
    Lizzipoos Posts: 12 Member
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    Belgian here with some insight for you:

    Growing up being active and having healthy eating habits is a big part of belgian schools. We had P.E 2 hours a week in school, and as someone mentioned before, we get wednesday afternoons off so we can participate in hobbies/sports outside of school. I also think that growing up with amazing chocolate and fries, but being taught that those are unhealthy and you should really only have those very now and then, helped us with eating healthy late on in life. We were encouraged to have fruit as our 10 o clock snack, and I think some schools don't alow you to let your kid bring an unhealthy snack. Lunch in belgian schools is also A LOT better than in American schools ( from what I've seen in documentaries etc)

    In Belgium, sports really are a big thing. A lot of people cycle everywhere (especially students) as it is the cheapest mode of transportation. We also have a lot of runners, walkers,footballers and horse riders. Everyone always has something active they do as a hobby.

  • taeliesyn
    taeliesyn Posts: 1,116 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    Hehe @Machka9 I don't think I've encountered a chicken parmy yet, that wasn't hanging off the side of the plate! :bigsmile:

    Yeah, me neither. The last town we lived had 30 different parma flavours, and a contest where participants were supposed to eat one each day for a month.

    I didn't even start the contest ... I just couldn't. Too much food!!! :lol:

    Where????????

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