Greens wrote:
I had assumed that a country with many more cyclists would have less
obesity. Since there's a lot more bicycling going on in the Netherlands, I
figured they'd be a fine example of what bicycle culture was capable of in
making the population healthier, but as it turns out, they have an obesity
epidemic over there too.

I think the figures do look a little better than the USA figures. Maybe it
can all be explained away as being due to more Dutch driving cars or
something.

"This paper shows the trends in the prevalence of overweight (body mass
index [BMI] = 25 kg m2) and obesity (BMI = 30 kg m2) in the Netherlands.
Overweight (obesity) prevalence in adult males increased from 37% (4%) in
1981 to 51% (10%) in 2004, and in adult females from 30% (6%) in 1981 to 42%
(12%) in 2004, according to self-reported data. In boys and girls, obesity
prevalence doubled or even tripled from 1980 to 1997, and again from 1997 to
2002–2004 a two- or threefold increase was seen for almost all ages.
According to the most recent data, overweight (obesity) prevalence figures
range, depending on age, from 9.2% to 17.3% (2.5–4.3%) in boys, and from
14.6% to 24.6% (2.3–6.5%) in girls. There is a lack of data on the national
prevalence of overweight and obesity based on measured height and weight and
on prevalences in different subgroups of the population. Regular national
representative health examination surveys that measure height and weight are
needed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its
distribution over subgroups in the population, and to properly direct and
evaluate prevention activities."





And I thought it was Mandatory Helmet Laws that caused obesity :P

Dorfus