Economic Crisis Kept Cubans Healthier and Biking

by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 09.28.07
Food & Health

800px-A_bike_taxi_and_large_bus_street_scene_in_Cuba.jpgAsk any Cuban who lived through the "special period" in the 1990s, and they will tell you that it was a terribly difficult time where everyone scrambled just to find enough to eat. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country went into a severe economic crisis as Soviet subsidies dried up, generating severe food and fuel shortages. But there was a silver lining to the lack of supplies: people were forced to slash their calorie intake and to travel on foot or bicycle.

According to a study published last week in the American Journal of Epidemiology, between 1997 and 2002, deaths in Cuba caused by diabetes declined by 51%, coronary heart disease mortality dropped 35% and stroke mortality by 20%. Obesity in the southern coastal city of Cienfuegos fell from 14.3% in 1991 to 7.2% in 1995.

Another interesting tidbit: now that the economy has relatively recovered, obesity is rebounding. Around 30% of adult Cubans are now overweight and a quarter have a tendency toward obesity, according to a government study. :: Via The Guardian

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    Comments (2)

    Human nature is interesting. We seem programmed to take it easy, even when it isn't good for us.

    jump to top coglethorpe says:

    I was in Cuba two weeks ago.

    The people who drive vehicles, large and small, are VERY courteous to cyclists.

    Even on intercity roads, a bigrig will slow down and wait behind a cyclist for an opportunity to pass.

    But there's a downside of riding a bike in Cuba. Most vehicles spew out a very thick black exhaust, which my travel guide explained as due to "cheaper black market fuel".

    And when I say black, I mean black. It's at least 20 times as bad as the thickest diesel exhaust you'd see in Canada.

    jump to top Chris says:

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