Comment by TulliusCicero
3 years ago
> My take away was fitness should be a lifestyle
There's only one way this actually happens for a majority of the population: exercise being built into daily habits, in a way that's so natural that it almost seems unavoidable.
The Netherlands seems to have the right of it: their urban design strongly supports walking and biking, and indeed, their rates of 'active transportation' are very high.
As a bonus, walk and bike infrastructure is quite cheap to build and maintain compared to car infrastructure.
"Traditionally" the people of Osaka, Sicily and various Greek islands are actually best at maintaining such healthy lifestyles, from what I recall from studies on longevity. Good diets, lots of mild exercise from long walks (on hilly terrain) and strong socal ties. I say traditionally because of course these studies can only really look at the lifestyles of past generations.
With that in mind the flat landscape of the Netherlands might be giving us a slight disadvantage ;)
*Okinawa, not Osaka. Serves me right for trying to recall these things from memory before my morning coffee.
Anyway, search for "blue zones" to learn more, aging healthily is an ongoing topic of research
My girlfriend, who was not trying to diet, lost about 20 lbs when she studies abroad in Italy, because she had to walk everywhere.