First thing I (another Canadian) noticed when we switched from the car to a shuttle to the airport (crossed the border by car to take a flight to Florida) was that there were multiple people on that shuttle that were at least as big as the most obese person I’d ever seen in person up to that point.
Even though our cultures overlap quite a bit, there’s something different in that aspect.
In Canada or the US? At least where I am, the Walmart shopping population doesn’t seem that different from the general pop, though I generally avoid going there so maybe I’m just not looking enough.
Disclaimer that I am aware of the people of Walmart meme, but kinda assumed that it was more of a “Walmart is popular therefore you’ll run in to people who live at the extremes” than a “Walmart uniquely attracts those who live at the extremes”.
The obesity epidemic really depends on where you are. I don’t see any fat people where I live now, but they were absolutely everywhere in the city I lived in before.
This was in Detroit. It wasn’t as noticable in Florida, or on separate trips to California. Like I’m sure I saw some pretty obese people in those locations (as I do in various places in Canada), but it wasn’t to the point where my mind made specific note of it for me to remember over a decade later.
Central California has tons of fat people, especially at places like Walmart. They all seem to congregate there. But then places like Huntington Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco, have almost no fat people. I think the better the socioeconomic situation is, and the more accessible walking is, the less likely people are to be overweight in an area.
