This article is a result of post-vacation curiosity that I couldn’t shake.

After 10 days of walking and eating my way through Venice, Florence and Rome, I began to wonder, “How do Italians succeed at keeping at such a healthy weight compared to Americans?”

As a health care professional, I had some general guesses, but no science to back it up.

To solve the mystery, I consulted with Italians, did some Internet research and came up with some stats.  None of this gathered information has completely answered my question, but it did succeed at providing more “food for thought”.

My guesses of how Italians keep lean:

• They walk and ride bikes to get places
• They drink more water (ancient water fountains)
• There are very few fast food chains
• People aren’t eating and walking at the same time
• Coffee is not infused with fancy sugary flavoring
• Less processed food and more fresh food choices
• A lot less sauces, gravies and dressings
• Meals enjoyed over time – more social connections

How do America and Italy compare on key indicators?

Activity level – according to data published in Nature and captured from smart phone data, Italians walk 522 steps more a day than Americans. This extra 522 steps a day translates to over 3,600 steps a week. In short, Italians walk 95 miles more a YEAR than Americans.

I am pictured here in Piazza San Marco in Venice during a rain shower. In Venice, walking is the primary form of transport, given that no cars are allowed on the roads, making it fantastically quiet and pedestrian friendly.

After dinner stroll “Passeggiata”

I asked a colleague of mine from Italy what she thought is the secret to Italians lower BMI.  She said, “I think it is because walking is ingrained in societal patterns; Italians walk daily as part of their routine. Even going for a “passeggiata” (an evening stroll) is a common experience. It is not a hard walk by any means – more of a see and be seen – but it gets families or couples or friends out in the evening.”

A recent study in Diabetologia exalts the benefits of the after dinner time stroll. It seems that a short walk after meals is better for blood sugar than walks at other times of the day. Research indicates that short 10 – 15 minute post dinner walk is VERY effective at lowering post meal blood glucose, especially after higher carbohydrate meals. Which is great news for people with prediabetes and diabetes.

However, the research didn’t look at changes in body weight, so I have no data to report on the impact passeggiata on BMI, yet.