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I come from a country built on carbs: Italy. I think I hate at least a plate of pasta a per for 30 years and guess what, I'm not overweight. America, do you wan

I come from a country built on carbs: Italy. I think I hate at least a plate of pasta a per for 30 years and guess what, I'm not overweight. America, do you want to see you problem? Don't look further than your car. The one you drive to go grocery shopping 1 mile from home. Just walk, I'm actually thinking to not renew my car lease when it will expire in 2 months, and we'll keep only one car for the family. Do you both need to commute to work? Fine, get to car, but use them if you need to go further than 1-2 miles. Otherwise walk. You'd be amaze to find out how many things there are in a two miles radius.

jdminhbg 16y ago
The number of things within a 2-mi radius of home varies a lot depending on where you live; Italy is a far more compact country than the US is. Also, I'm not so sure that even an Italian-sized dinner portion of pasta compares in sheer carbs per person to the typical castigated lower-class American diet. White bread and soda alone provide a mind-boggling amount.
staktrace 16y ago
It's all about balancing the two. If you eat lots of carbs but don't burn them off in the right way, they're going to result in disease. If you exercise regularly, some (but not all) of the negative effects of carbs are counteracted. For instance, eating carbs will still increase the acidity of your system, which leads to calcium leaking off your bones and osteoporosis.
enjo 16y ago
I lived in Italy for a few years (Northern). Generally the portions of pasta that you ate were relatively small. You also ate a lot of fish, stews, and vegetables. In regions of Italy that DO eat mostly carb loaded diets (like Sicily) there has been a relatively long running obesity issue. Walking is important, and it's a great thing. But even walking several miles a day does little to combat obesity when you're offsetting it with thousands of calories of carb-loaded food every day.
- davidedicillo 16y ago
  I grew up in Milan, and none in my family is obese. If for relatively small you mean "human" yeah, we don't server Cheesecake Factory portions (we actually do once in a while, I remember my dad and grand father eating pasta in a salad bowl few times).

jdminhbg 16y ago

The number of things within a 2-mi radius of home varies a lot depending on where you live; Italy is a far more compact country than the US is. Also, I'm not so sure that even an Italian-sized dinner portion of pasta compares in sheer carbs per person to the typical castigated lower-class American diet. White bread and soda alone provide a mind-boggling amount.

staktrace 16y ago

It's all about balancing the two. If you eat lots of carbs but don't burn them off in the right way, they're going to result in disease. If you exercise regularly, some (but not all) of the negative effects of carbs are counteracted. For instance, eating carbs will still increase the acidity of your system, which leads to calcium leaking off your bones and osteoporosis.

enjo 16y ago

I lived in Italy for a few years (Northern). Generally the portions of pasta that you ate were relatively small. You also ate a lot of fish, stews, and vegetables. In regions of Italy that DO eat mostly carb loaded diets (like Sicily) there has been a relatively long running obesity issue. Walking is important, and it's a great thing. But even walking several miles a day does little to combat obesity when you're offsetting it with thousands of calories of carb-loaded food every day.

davidedicillo 16y ago
I grew up in Milan, and none in my family is obese. If for relatively small you mean "human" yeah, we don't server Cheesecake Factory portions (we actually do once in a while, I remember my dad and grand father eating pasta in a salad bowl few times).