Hilarious Reddit thread on walking in the US vs UK

[Anonymous]

"In the year to November 2021, 63.5% of adults (people aged 18 and over) were overweight or living with obesity – up from 62.8% the previous year."

https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/health/diet-and-exercise/overweight-adults/latest

Hmm.. somehow I doubt that the average Brit is walking 8 miles a day...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ People in cities are generally much more fit because of all the walking/stairs they do. ”

People in cities are not morally superior due to walking more. It’s just the option that makes the most sense in that environment- parking is terrible in cities since it’s hard to find or very expensive. It’s not the same in the burbs which is a big part of why people there drive more.

Nobody said they’re morally superior.

[Anonymous]

Drivers do NOT stop at the intersection line and usually leave their cars in the middle of the crosswalk. This makes walking on some roads (Rockville Pike for example) extremely dangerous. I remember walking with my stroller and had to wait for the car to go because the driver did not see me and was sitting in the intersection. I couldn't get the stroller off the sidewalk to walk behind the car because they were blocking the ramp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not even the suburbs, people won’t even walk in a shopping center. I’ve seen people circle 5 or 6 times trying to get a parking space ip front. I’ve parked and inside shopping by the time they actually get one. So lazy and most are overweight and need to walk a little (or a lot!).

I've seen people stalk others in the parking lot for my gym.

There's plenty of parking 2-3 rows away. But even going to the gym, people are lazy AF.

My personal trainer at my club in Ashburn drove her car to work every day. She lived a 7 minute walk away, less than half a mile and didn't have to cross any major roads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, taking long walks (1+ hours) on pavement is awful on your knees & feet, even if you don’t feel the impact immediately.

Second, if not owning a car correlated with being fitter, those who do not own cars & whom are completely reliant on public transportation (including public buses) for their every need would be the fittest among us. Obviously, that is not the case.

Walking for an hour plus is awful on your knees and feet? The “impact” of WALKING? Is this some kind of troll post? How horrendously out of shape are you? Let me guess, if somebody does any amount of running their knees will explode by the time they are 60.

Unreal. Absent some health condition not of your own making, if you can’t walk 10 miles and you are under the age 65, you are doing life wrong. Most Americans can’t walk FIVE miles to save their life.

It’s not exclusively an American thing. I know plenty of sedentary Brits and continental Europeans. And even those that do walk a lot that just eat and drink poorly.

It’s like idiocracy sometimes. Where is the brawndo?

You missed the “on pavement” part. Versus on soft surfaces.

The fit neighbors I have can't walk 10 miles. Most do less than 5 on their big walks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, taking long walks (1+ hours) on pavement is awful on your knees & feet, even if you don’t feel the impact immediately.

Second, if not owning a car correlated with being fitter, those who do not own cars & whom are completely reliant on public transportation (including public buses) for their every need would be the fittest among us. Obviously, that is not the case.

Walking for an hour plus is awful on your knees and feet? The “impact” of WALKING? Is this some kind of troll post? How horrendously out of shape are you? Let me guess, if somebody does any amount of running their knees will explode by the time they are 60.

Unreal. Absent some health condition not of your own making, if you can’t walk 10 miles and you are under the age 65, you are doing life wrong. Most Americans can’t walk FIVE miles to save their life.

It’s not exclusively an American thing. I know plenty of sedentary Brits and continental Europeans. And even those that do walk a lot that just eat and drink poorly.

It’s like idiocracy sometimes. Where is the brawndo?

You missed the “on pavement” part. Versus on soft surfaces.

The fit neighbors I have can't walk 10 miles. Most do less than 5 on their big walks.

If that's all they do, they're not that fit. A 3-4 mile walk for me is a rest day. Walking medium-long distances is nothing for my 44 year old body, if not a relaxing reset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, taking long walks (1+ hours) on pavement is awful on your knees & feet, even if you don’t feel the impact immediately.

Second, if not owning a car correlated with being fitter, those who do not own cars & whom are completely reliant on public transportation (including public buses) for their every need would be the fittest among us. Obviously, that is not the case.

Walking for an hour plus is awful on your knees and feet? The “impact” of WALKING? Is this some kind of troll post? How horrendously out of shape are you? Let me guess, if somebody does any amount of running their knees will explode by the time they are 60.

Unreal. Absent some health condition not of your own making, if you can’t walk 10 miles and you are under the age 65, you are doing life wrong. Most Americans can’t walk FIVE miles to save their life.

It’s not exclusively an American thing. I know plenty of sedentary Brits and continental Europeans. And even those that do walk a lot that just eat and drink poorly.

It’s like idiocracy sometimes. Where is the brawndo?

You missed the “on pavement” part. Versus on soft surfaces.

The fit neighbors I have can't walk 10 miles. Most do less than 5 on their big walks.

If that's all they do, they're not that fit. A 3-4 mile walk for me is a rest day. Walking medium-long distances is nothing for my 44 year old body, if not a relaxing reset.

I tend to be one of the posters on here that snaps back at people being snarky, but I agree with this 100%.

Absent some form of health impediment, a "fit" person under the age of 65 should be able to walk effectively indefinitely and certainly at least 10 miles.

Unfortunately, the percentages of people in both the US and UK that fit into that category are not very high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Chicago and walk a ton, but am skeptical of the brits posting they walk 4+miles each way to work. Who has time for an hour + walking commute when it could 8min instead? Assuming they have families they need to get home to, dinner to make etc.

As a Brit I’m skeptical too. Plus it is not making us any skinnier all these supposed miles. The UK is getting fatter by the day. Maybe they mean 4k, but nobody there is walking 4 miles. If they don’t have a car (which is uncommon outside of London) then they are taking public transport.

Disagree. I am sure the average person walks significantly more in the UK. Car ownership is 25 percent lower. Public transport is much better. Walking to the bus or train station can be a significant amount compared to waddling down to the garage. There is nowhere in the UK that is as unfriendly to pedestrians as most of the US. And partly as a consequence, the US obesity rate is 42 percent vs 28 percent in the UK.

Well be skeptical. I’m
Back there AT LEAST 4xs a year and have a house in North Devon and stay at my moms flat where I grew up in London.

You Americans have really funny ideals about what goes on in Europe and the UK in general. The suburbs in England are exploding and people are actually quite fat and out of shape. It’s getting worse every single year. The NHS is totally flooded and overwhelmed with the sick population. Ozempic and such drugs are in crazy demand. Lots and lots of processed food in the UK as well. What I love about the US is the incredible access to year round fresh foods.

You probably are better off comparing France or the Netherlands.

And yes people have less cars in the UK than the US. Do you have any awareness of the affluence in the US as compared to the UK? What we consider “poor” here is pretty normal in the UK. It’s not all what you see in tv or read in your Paddington Bear story books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not even the suburbs, people won’t even walk in a shopping center. I’ve seen people circle 5 or 6 times trying to get a parking space ip front. I’ve parked and inside shopping by the time they actually get one. So lazy and most are overweight and need to walk a little (or a lot!).

I've seen people stalk others in the parking lot for my gym.

There's plenty of parking 2-3 rows away. But even going to the gym, people are lazy AF.

My personal trainer at my club in Ashburn drove her car to work every day. She lived a 7 minute walk away, less than half a mile and didn't have to cross any major roads.

Ha! I’m a fitness instructor and teach 9 classes a week that I’m an active participant in and then do my own weight training. I’m almost always doing a 2 or even 3 a day 6 days a week. Only thing I walk is my dog. I don’t need to burn a single extra calorie. My day revolves around food and packing on calories and I’m 47 with 3 older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not even the suburbs, people won’t even walk in a shopping center. I’ve seen people circle 5 or 6 times trying to get a parking space ip front. I’ve parked and inside shopping by the time they actually get one. So lazy and most are overweight and need to walk a little (or a lot!).

I've seen people stalk others in the parking lot for my gym.

There's plenty of parking 2-3 rows away. But even going to the gym, people are lazy AF.

My personal trainer at my club in Ashburn drove her car to work every day. She lived a 7 minute walk away, less than half a mile and didn't have to cross any major roads.

Ha! I’m a fitness instructor and teach 9 classes a week that I’m an active participant in and then do my own weight training. I’m almost always doing a 2 or even 3 a day 6 days a week. Only thing I walk is my dog. I don’t need to burn a single extra calorie. My day revolves around food and packing on calories and I’m 47 with 3 older kids.

If you don’t mind me asking how much do you eat a day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not even the suburbs, people won’t even walk in a shopping center. I’ve seen people circle 5 or 6 times trying to get a parking space ip front. I’ve parked and inside shopping by the time they actually get one. So lazy and most are overweight and need to walk a little (or a lot!).

I've seen people stalk others in the parking lot for my gym.

There's plenty of parking 2-3 rows away. But even going to the gym, people are lazy AF.

My personal trainer at my club in Ashburn drove her car to work every day. She lived a 7 minute walk away, less than half a mile and didn't have to cross any major roads.

Ha! I’m a fitness instructor and teach 9 classes a week that I’m an active participant in and then do my own weight training. I’m almost always doing a 2 or even 3 a day 6 days a week. Only thing I walk is my dog. I don’t need to burn a single extra calorie. My day revolves around food and packing on calories and I’m 47 with 3 older kids.

If you don’t mind me asking how much do you eat a day?

My target is 3,000csl a day to maintain my weight, muscle and fat goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brits like to take the mickey out of how we hate to walk everywhere until they move to America and realize how spread out things are. They often forget that their entire country is the size of Florida. People in NYC walk exactly the same amount as people in London. People in the burbs walk exactly the same amount as people in East Bumble UK. I have lived in all four places. I am also married to a Brit who used to love making fun of me for this. Ten years of suburban living later, you best believe he’s driving that car from one end of the shopping center to the other.

Uh... like, I don't think they are making fun of people for not walking 5 miles to the grocery store. I think they are shocked (and rightly so) that we design our communities this way and that anyone chooses to live on a small patch of homogenous green grass amongst never ending hellscapes of parking lots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, taking long walks (1+ hours) on pavement is awful on your knees & feet, even if you don’t feel the impact immediately.

Second, if not owning a car correlated with being fitter, those who do not own cars & whom are completely reliant on public transportation (including public buses) for their every need would be the fittest among us. Obviously, that is not the case.

Walking for an hour plus is awful on your knees and feet? The “impact” of WALKING? Is this some kind of troll post? How horrendously out of shape are you? Let me guess, if somebody does any amount of running their knees will explode by the time they are 60.

Unreal. Absent some health condition not of your own making, if you can’t walk 10 miles and you are under the age 65, you are doing life wrong. Most Americans can’t walk FIVE miles to save their life.

It’s not exclusively an American thing. I know plenty of sedentary Brits and continental Europeans. And even those that do walk a lot that just eat and drink poorly.

It’s like idiocracy sometimes. Where is the brawndo?

You missed the “on pavement” part. Versus on soft surfaces.

Uh, you know people run on pavement for an hour (or several hours) without issues. Where on earth are you getting the idea that it's bad to *walk* on pavement for ONE hour? One has to be really out of shape (or quite elderly) to feel "impact" from walking for an hour on pavement.

And on your 2nd comment about public transportation... people that take public transportation in cities are generally quite fit and active. People in cities are generally much more fit because of all the walking/stairs they do.

People that are completely dependent on public transportation are generally poor & fat.

That does not describe any of my many friends who live in NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, taking long walks (1+ hours) on pavement is awful on your knees & feet, even if you don’t feel the impact immediately.

Second, if not owning a car correlated with being fitter, those who do not own cars & whom are completely reliant on public transportation (including public buses) for their every need would be the fittest among us. Obviously, that is not the case.

Walking for an hour plus is awful on your knees and feet? The “impact” of WALKING? Is this some kind of troll post? How horrendously out of shape are you? Let me guess, if somebody does any amount of running their knees will explode by the time they are 60.

Unreal. Absent some health condition not of your own making, if you can’t walk 10 miles and you are under the age 65, you are doing life wrong. Most Americans can’t walk FIVE miles to save their life.

It’s not exclusively an American thing. I know plenty of sedentary Brits and continental Europeans. And even those that do walk a lot that just eat and drink poorly.

It’s like idiocracy sometimes. Where is the brawndo?

You missed the “on pavement” part. Versus on soft surfaces.

The fit neighbors I have can't walk 10 miles. Most do less than 5 on their big walks.

If that's all they do, they're not that fit. A 3-4 mile walk for me is a rest day. Walking medium-long distances is nothing for my 44 year old body, if not a relaxing reset.

I tend to be one of the posters on here that snaps back at people being snarky, but I agree with this 100%.

Absent some form of health impediment, a "fit" person under the age of 65 should be able to walk effectively indefinitely and certainly at least 10 miles.

Unfortunately, the percentages of people in both the US and UK that fit into that category are not very high.

NP, I walk a brisk 5 miles daily and enjoy a long hike, but 10 miles on pavement has my feet burning, especially at a good pace. Fitness (meaning muscle and cardio) has little to do with joints and feet, and it's really ignorant to pretend that walking on hard surfaces doesn't stress your support structure.

Re: walkability, let's be realistic about the free time people have. If I walk my kid to school and walk home, thats an hour round trip; another hour in the afternoon. I have to start work earlier and end later to do that. Then let's say I walk to the grocery, that adds an hour or more to my trip. And by then I've only walked like 6 slow miles so I probably need to do another hour, fast, for fitness. That's 4 hours plus work and home life and social life ... it doesn't all fit.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know if it is still the same, but many Europeans go to a wolksmarch - a walk through the woods near a city. In addition, many couples/families would walk at night after dinner in the towns I lives near in Germany. Walking was a past time.