Comments on: The Traveler’s Diet: How To Slim Down On The Road

By: Emily Liedel

Emily Liedel — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:19:26 +0000

I studied Chinese for a month at a Chinese University and decided to take a class at the gym while I was there. While I consider myself a normal weight, after taking the class with 20 Chinese women I could help but feel like an enormously overweight! So yes, cultural differences can certainly change the way things are seen. However, it is interesting how things are different for men and women. Many Chinese men, while not overweight, were certainly “heavyset.” Interesting article!

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By: The Philippine Island

The Philippine Island — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:32:54 +0000

I think doing good exercise and eating proper kinds of food would be a key to become a healthy traveller.

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By: eileen

eileen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:37:39 +0000

Traveling has always equalled fitness for me, since I’m out and about most of the day, and often hoofing it long distances with a backpack (yay! resistance training!). So I couldn’t agree more with your article.

I wanted to add Chile to the chunky country list (same obesity percentage as the US), and mention that Santiago has a cheap bikeshare program, so if you arrive overweight you’ll fit right in, and if you decide to ride it off, you’ve got that as an option as well.

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By: Santosh

Santosh — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:13:16 +0000

I agree too.

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By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:53:36 +0000

Hmm.. I’m a bit always suspicious with diets. I admire the fact that these meals are made with fresh ingredients, but how do you know that what the right percentage or carbs, protein and fats are in the first place? And how do you know that the portions are right for you? I like to rely on my hunger for portion control.

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By: Travel-Writers-Exchange.com

Travel-Writers-Exchange.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:10:59 +0000

Traveling is great for weight loss. Unless you go on a cruise and take a seat at the buffet table for the entire cruise Sometimes it can be a challenge to eat healthy if you visit countries known for rich and fattening foods. Thank goodness the UK now has Subway!

Cultural norms are different. Americans who are overweight best prepare themselves for remarks and possible looks when traveling to countries where “slim and trim” is the norm. There are certain countries where “slim and trim” Americans would not be the norm. Either way, weight loss is personal and would make a great travel article. I guess traveling could motivate a person to adopt new, healthy habits when he/she arrives home. Depends on the person.

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By: Seth

Seth — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:51:08 +0000

For me, I’ve never consciously tried to lose weight while I travel but, no matter what, after a couple weeks I find my clothes are just a little more loose.

I attribute this to two things.One, skimping on food to save money, and two, the sheer amount of walking budget travel requires, sometimes as much as 10km per day.

I disagree about portion sizes in Asia. Here in Korea, with all the sides, you get a ton of food, I’m talking unlimited side dishes with 180g of meat. The difference is, that while the portions are larger, the food is generally healthier, usually vegetables.

On the other hand, snacks tend to come in smaller sizes and you rarely see people drinking soda with their meals.

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By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:43:54 +0000

I completely agree.

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By: Christy

Christy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:34:24 +0000

This is making me look forward to travel even MORE now haha been trying to loose weight forever, maybe this will be the push to actually LOOSE!

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By: Christine Garvin

Christine Garvin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:24:35 +0000

On the opposite end of cultural differences from your example of the Taiwanese woman’s comment, my friend, who would be considered “normal” size in the US, went to Africa and was met with “Are you sick?” because they considered her too skinny.

That was a tremendous example to me of how weight and size, in an even larger respect for women than men, has to do with our cultural norms of beauty (and our accessibility to food), and not health. Many African and Indian women would be considered overweight in the US, North Asia, and Europe although they are quite healthy and strong.

While I wouldn’t dare say we don’t have weight issues in the West, I blame our focus on being skinny, which leads to the yo-yo affects of dieting on the body (and the fact that we are never taught the difference between real food and what you find in a package), for our sometimes excessive largeness.

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