Why is Belgium so Skinny?

nicolet789 · May 2015

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 · May 2015

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 · May 2015

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 · May 2015

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 · May 2015

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.

ItsLizV · May 2015

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 · May 2015

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!!!

Where????????

Why is Belgium so Skinny?

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