Italy has the Lowest Obesity Rate in Europe: Here's why

hello and welcome to today's video and in today's video I'm going to share seven reasons why Italy has either the lowest obesity rate in Europe or the second largest obesity rate in Europe after Denmark I've been looking into this but different sources seem to say different things regardless it is clear that Italy is in the bottom two at the time of recording this because of course this could very well change in the future and now the reason why I can comfortably speak to you about this is because number one I've been to several different cities in Italy so I do have a good understanding of how things work there and then number two I am a personal trainer who specializes in weight loss and then you put those two factors together and you will have someone who can confidently tell you why Italy's obesity rate is relatively low compared to the rest of Europe now are you surprised activities obesity rate is that low compared to the rest of Europe well to be honest with you I was surprised and that's only because gelato is huge there pizza is huge there spaghetti is huge there and depending on the way you cook those things they can be very calorie dense and trust me when I say that Italians don't don't care about low calorie as much as they care about Good Taste and rightly so anyway let's get stuck into the specific reasons why although before I do start I do want to say that if you're not subscribed to the channel already then please do subscribe it would help immensely anyway let's get stuck in in no particular order by the way point number one is slower more social eating Italians rarely Eat Alone they very often eat with friends or family and when you're eating with friends and family then naturally you're going to eat your food at a slower rate and if you eat your food at a soil rate you're giving us your I was going to say yourself or your brain more specifically about 10 to 15 minute windowed signal that it's full because oftentimes when someone overheats it's usually because they're just eating straight up with no pauses in between and they're just scoffing it down and like that it is very easy to overeat when you don't give your brain that window of time and then on to point number two is more pedestrianized cities and by this I mean better weather and it's very easy to just walk around everywhere now these more pedestrianized cities are usually a common theme around Europe it's more so an issue in the US I would say where cities have been built up to be very dependent on driving which is obviously going to be a factor as to why the obesity rate is high in the US but again Italy has a low obesity rate because yeah you can walk around everywhere great weather and obviously you combine those two factors and that is going to be a reason why Italy has a low obesity rate because more walking is only going to help and then point number three again this isn't no particular order is and I hope I pronounced that correctly I think I did and actually before I go deeper into the video I want to say that I'm not Italian I have Portuguese parents and I'm born and raised in London England so yeah no Italian to me just going from experience but back onto Point number three is a better table this is when and correct me if I'm wrong feel free to put it down in the comments below but it's when Italians often meet up for drinks and I think it's more specifically often alcohol so like wine and beer before they have their meals together and this isn't me telling you to have alcohol before your next meal this is me telling me more so maybe it would be wise for you to enjoy a glass of water or two before your next meal because research does show when you have more fluids before you eat you are likely to end up eating less and then on to point number four Italians tend to be passionate communicators so you can think the flailing hands they're very animated and then when they're very animated and they're moving around a lot that does mean that their meat is generally going to be higher than yours and when someone is fidgeting moving around or even walking more that's only going to help when it comes to their fat loss as well because again that only increases someone's levels of meat which again is only going to go back to keeping of these two rates lower across the board and then on to point number five is the Mediterranean diet now I do want to emphasize that I don't like putting specific diets on nutrition approaches on a pedestal nor does the Mediterranean diet need to be thought of as specifically some sort of weight loss diet but it does emphasize Foods you would do well to eat regardless because prioritizing whole grains vegetables legumes fruits nuts seeds herbs spices and even Seafood is only going to be a net positive and then on to the final point is Italians do generally tend to have a smaller breakfast again I am speaking in general terms it's not absolutely everyone but yes they do tend to have smaller breakfast there it's usually just an espresso and something small to accompany it this is actually similar to YC happen in Portugal as well it's just usually an espresso and again maybe sometimes it's nothing on the side as well it's just the espresso sometimes it's an espresso and a cigarette and I'm not saying that's healthy but it is what tends to happen and if that's what's happening and that's what they're having then it almost results in a sort of intermittent fasting approach in a way and that's not to say that skipping breakfast is magical or having less at breakfast is magical because of course it's more important what you eat throughout the day as a whole but having a small breakfast or a tiny breakfast does increase the chances of Italians being in a calorie deficit now overall this isn't a be-all an end or list I'm sure there is more factors and if you can think of other factors then feel free to drop this in the comments below and then also not saying that Italians are healthier than the rest of Europe as that is a tiny bit of a different conversation but I am giving you reasons as to why Italy does have a relatively low obesity rate compared to the rest of Europe otherwise again if you found this helpful then subscribe to the channel like and share the video and maybe check out my podcast on Spotify and apple podcasts as well I cover so many health and fitness related subjects on there as well and if you like this video then you'll definitely like that podcast I'll leave the links for my podcast in the caption of this video otherwise take care and I'll see you around

Channel: Leo Alves

Views: 12,468

Keywords: Italy, Italian, Weight loss, Fat loss, Weight loss tips, Losing weight, Losing fat, Fitness journey, Italian obesity rate, European obesity rate, Weight loss advice, European Union, Europe, European obesity, Italian obesity

Id: qnE7LXDxr1A

Length: 5min 29sec (329 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 27 2023