Reply #55: Where you live has a lot to do with it in my opinion. [View All]

Being able to engage in outdoor physical activities year-round makes quite a difference.

Here in St. Louis, we have such brutal winters & frostbite and hypothermia are real dangers outdoors from November through March, even if you bundle up. During April through October you'll find 90*+ temps with high humidity which increase your danger of heatstroke. Yes I know that you can excercise indoors, but gym memberships have skyrocketed like college tuition in recent years & some people (including me) can't have that in their budget. For example, I first joined a YMCA back in 1997 at a cost of $27 per month. That was affordable to me then. Now in 2005, that same Y that I went to charges $64 per month for an adult membership.

I went to Hawaii last year (December) & I saw very few obese (native) people there. A lot of people were doing outdoor activities in the wonderful weather such as surfing, biking, swimming, jogging, hiking, you name it. I did a lot of those things too. I felt lucky to be there because I knew everyone back at home was denned in from the cold & probably sitting in front of the tube watching football all day.