Active Transportation Leads to a Leaner Nation

Sometimes the obviousness of the research is …uh…OBVIOUS! Researchers have found a link between the nations that have the highest levels of “active transportation” (biking, walking, or public transit) and the lowest rates of obesity. This was reported on MSNBC in the article, Leaner nations, bike, walk, and use mass transit.

So I know what your thinking, “How could this be? The more we move, the more chance we won’t be fat?!?! What kind of bad science is this?” Well, according to the research, those that used active transportation in Latvia, Sweden, and the Netherlands were 67 %, 62 %, and 52 % respectively. Their rates for obesity were 14 % in Latvia, 11 % in Sweden, and 9 % in the Netherlands. What the heck are they doing over there to only have 9 %?

By comparison, in the U.S., only 12 % use active transit and we have anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of the population falling into the obese range. For those of us who live around the Washington Metropolitan area, as the suburban sprawl make commutes longer and longer, I would agree that we need to move more, but I’m not quite sure we have developed a country infrastructure that supports this.

The county that I live in are now just really getting to the point that bike lanes are readily available and the local area is more setup for active transit. Those that live here, but commute to Washington to work, would have to leave about 3 a.m. to get there on time. Who needs sleep when you can be biking to work for three hours in the morning?

Hopefully, as oil issues become ever more difficult and as the obesity epidemic increases, the new administration will look at developing more of the country’s infrastructure to support active transit and “kill two birds with one stone”.

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