Move to Norway to Speed Up Your Fat Loss

Since the vast majority of my personal training clients have been women (the same goes for my online readers), I try to stay up to speed on issues and news that are very specific to women. One of the ways to I that is by reading Women's Health.

An article I read this morning profiled Norway as THE place to live if you want to be lean and healthy.
Here's an eye opener:

• Obesity rate for Norwegian women: 5.8%
• Obesity rate for American women: 35.3%

WOW, that's a 30% difference! In fact, it seems like we're behind many countries when it comes to overal health.
Here are some more interesting stats about some of the other healthiest countries on the planet:

• Wome live the longest in Japan and Monaco
• Women rarely have heart attacks in Kiribati and France
• Women in Japan and Norway are rarely overweight (even though there is plenty of food)
• Women in Senegal and Gambia rarely get colon cancer
• Women are happiest in Denmark and Switzerland

What do all of these statistic have in common? The U.S. isn't in the top 5 in ANY of them.
How do the women in these country do it?

How do they stay lean, remain healthy, live long and avoid heart attacks? Here's a summary of what the women in these countries do to get on this list:

1. Soy: Eat soy. Studies show that women who eat soy at least 1x per week cut their risk of breast cancer by 50%. HOWEVER, some research points to cancer cells actually accelerating with processedsoy. So skip the Tofurkey and stick with natural Japanese staples such as miso, soy milk and edamame.
2. Green Tea: Green tea contains high levels of catechins which can destroy abnormal cancer cells and lower cholesterol.
3. Drink wine: A glass of wine daily. The average American drinks one a week.
4. Eat more garlic: Garlic contains an enzyme which prevents cholesterol from sticking to artery walls.
5. Ride your bike and walk: The Norwegian government really gets behind biking and walking by doing things like sponsoring government programs that actually buy bicycles for public use.
6. Eat together: Norwegian families also put an emphasis on family meals (Americans spend 174 times more money as Norwegians on fast food).
7. Take a nap: Only 3% of American women take an afternoon nap. Studies link too little sleep to increased ghrelin production, a hormone which makes you crave comfort foods.
8. Go green: Eating folate rich wild greens can slach colon cancer risk by up to 60%.
9. Eat fish: Eat two or mmore servings of fish a week and slash your risk of depression by 50%.

There's nothing here that most of us haven't already heard or read somewhere, but based on the statistics, not too many women actually put these practices into use (and I'm sure the men aren't any better).

How many of these things do you actually do in your daily life and for those you don't, why not?

Let me know by posting a comment below!

Posted by George Louris, CFT at 4:50 AM

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