r/AskEurope • u/scurrilous_diatribe • 5d ago

Sports Are Poles the „fittest“ Europeans?

Currently Poland for the weekend, and It seems like the average pole is either „military buff fit“, or „cyclist endurance fit“. I mean even the dudes with the plumber-bodies despite having a beer-belly, have arms that could lift trucks. That type of „farmer-strength“ build

If Europe ever was to do a similar version of that Netflix show in South Korea „physical: 100“, it should definitely take place here.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

No, check the overweight map

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u/Masseyrati80 Finland 5d ago

Thanks for the link!

People have started to criticize the BMI system, but it still does tell a lot on the national and international scale of things.

As an anecdote: I peaked in performance in bicycle racing as I was hovering right at the limit of being underweight in terms of BMI. I was healthiest and happiest, and most capable of trying new sports, when I was smack bang in the middle of the normal weight bracket. And now that I'm tickling the limit of being overweight, long uphills on foot, ski or bicycle feel like struggles instead of interesting and enjoyable challenges.

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u/Jagarvem Sweden 5d ago

BMI is an index, not a health evaluation tool. Sure it could serve as a very basic rule of thumb, but it's not meant to be applied at the individual level. Especially not as some system of weight classification.

It's a population-level statistical tool. It has its limitations and biases, but it is generally fine for averages and trends over a broad population.