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An American friend of mine claims to be able to recognise Europeans by their gait: people who do a moderate amount of walking/cycling every day to get around carry themselves differently than people who get around mostly by driving, whether they deliberately exercise or not.
It still really depends tho. I was in a smaller city tge other day that is just small enough that i wouödn’t use a tram to go around and just walk. I was in the middle of like 10 to 15 people, all walking in tge same direction. I heard a tram ringing from behind, and the people started moving faster and i was like: oh, they all want to get on that tram, and the station was maybe 100m away. People moved faster, some ran, you get the picture. But at least half of them were so out of shape that their “running” or “picking up speed” was my walking speed. Like i walked by the statuon maybe 3 seconds after the last guy who was booking it, he had to hold his pants up, he was always just right in front of me, never really gaining any distance. I can’t imagine ever letting it get to the point.
The US really is the nation of extremes.
You’ll go on a morning walk ond see women in their 70s who can run laps around you but drive 20 minutes to Walmart and you’ll see several people in their 50s on mobility scooters.
*that look like they’re in their 50s
they’re actually 33
That is one thing I noticed on a recent trip to Europe, there weren’t that many joggers. In most major cities on the US, especially in parks and scenic places, you’ll see a fair amount of joggers, but didn’t really see any in Europe besides barcelona.
It seems in America were either training for a marathon or a hot dog eating competition.
Must depend on the city. I see plenty, even joggers dodging people in tourist trap areas of Barcelona like La Rambla.
The hot dog eating competitors can be chiseled
That’s not really true. I’m in Europe and saw around 5 joggers on my way to work this morning. I see multiple packs of twenty going past my house at weekends
The big difference between the US and Europe is probably that joggers are happier running near their houses in Europe and don’t feel the need to drive to a designated safe space for daily training. This makes the big parks a bit emptier.
What? People get inside their cars in sweaty jogging gear? Disgusting.
I mean, why jog when you already walk everywhere?
We’re the best
USA is the third most populated country on Earth. So, expect some variance.
There can be variance in small countries as well. This really has nothing to do with the number of people in a country, but it is a very American comment to think that it is.
I have a feeling you don’t understand statistics. You posted two comments implying population size doesn’t increase the chances of extremes existing. If it’s a 1 in a million chance then tossing one coin is unlikely to have it happen. Tossing several hundred million coins and you expect it to happen many times. A larger population means you’re more likely to see extremes on either end.
You are correct and wrong.
In a standard distribution, a bigger dataset will contain more more extremes and more extreme extremes. But the size doesn’t change the distribution. For every extremely fit person, you would expect a propositional amount of non-fit people. So while you might encounter more extremes in specific locations like a bodybuilder event, in daily life, you would realistically encounter the same subset of people, than in a smaller population.
If we assume that the author is not seeking out locations with extremes. While the author is more likely to meet the actually fittest person in America than in e.g. singapore, as the actually fittest person is more likely to live there. it is vastly more likely that the author met “their” fittest person in the country that they spend most of their time in.
So variance due to size and more extreme extremes, doesn’t explain the perception. His location would. Or if the distribution would be different in e.g. America than in e.g. singapore.
Except the post isn’t about averages. It’s about encountering more of either extreme. You have more opportunity to meet more people with a higher population, and more traveling. Like you said, it has to do with where most of their time is spent, or rather how many unique locations they visit in that time really. The US being both giant and with a high population, as well as a strong impact on the world economy and media, it dramatically increases the chance that they had more encounters in the US.
It is not about averages and I never said it was. It is about the subset of people you are likely to meet. If i go to new York, I will see a lot of people but I will see every kind of person. If I see in new York 1 Mio people, the distribution of the people will be similar than when I walk through jakarta and see 1 Mio people. Unless!!! There is a difference in the distribution beyond population size.
If i would meet all the citizens in America and all the citizens in Canada, the fittest person i have met, is more likely American. But you don’t met everyone.
Wow. Great insight, thx.
It’s a big country.
China and India are bigger countries yet the disparity in either isn’t as vast.
Ever so slightly smaller than Europe as a whole, but half as populated.
So you’re saying it’s a big country?
No it’s still two countries with the middle mountainous part being largely empty, east and west coast America are very different.
Dreams stay with you?
Like a lover’s voice fires the mountainside?
guitars that sound like bagpipes
Which has no effect on a claim like this.
Missing information: Has only ever travelled USA.
The fittest men here means the men with the best steroid cycles
I wish Hollywood was more forthright about the use of exogenous anabolic compounds, as they have crafted a body image that is tough to live up to without using steroids, especially for older men. There are a few that are open about it, like Alan Richson, but it is almost never mentioned.
I was watching Steve McQueen in ‘The Getaway.’ When the movie was shot McQueen was one of the most macho he-men in Hollywood. When he took his shirt off he looked like an accountant.
Then I was watching another movie from 2024. The character is supposed to be a sleazy lawyer; a loser who needs to hire hookers. He takes off his shirt and has the abs of a god.
Um… could you point me at some of those accountants you mentioned? 😥
Bitch please.
Mr. Clint Walker has entered the house.
All six feet and nine inches of him.
More than you could handle.
All six feet and nine inches of him.
Are those 2 separate measurements?
You couldn’t handle the six feet or the nine inches.
If I die, I die 😑
I remember seeing JK Simmons getting absolutely jacked and being like, WTF?
“Get me in the ring with Spider-Man!”
Yeah this. Actual fitness is not something you can accurately gauge with your eyes.
Unless they mean fit in the british sense
yea, and the most unfit probably just means fat, same problem
Well, yes. The meme is referencing the 4, 5, 600 lb people that live in the US.
That’s one thing that shocked me in the USA: people in the streets were either comedically round or comedically ripped, no “a little beer belly”, no “a little sporty”.
Where did you visit, because that’s an uncommon distribution.
Tbh, pretty common in bigger cities in the south. I think it’s more prevalent in areas with fairly severe disparities in wealth.
New Jersey
I’m sorry that happened to you 😞
We’ve got the best fattie’s and the best hottie’s
Take that Europe and Asia
Yes, fittest men are in South America. Unfittest men are in North America.
The best food comes from South America too.
We all need an Abuela or Vovó
USA! USA! USA!
“Not even close.” reads to me like a negation, i.e. USA has neither the fittest nor the fattest people in daily life.
I think it means that second place isn’t even close. That the margin of ‘victory’ is large.
