Spain: Eating and Exercise

Submitted by Sierra Riley on the 2016 summer session program in Toledo, Spain sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences…

While studying abroad in Spain, it has been interesting to note how different the eating schedule and portion sizes are compared to the United States of America. In Spain, it is common for Spaniards to eat a light breakfast (ie. toast, ham, cheese, orange juice, coffee, yogurt, etc.) around 7:00 a.m., a light lunch around 2:00 p.m. or later, and a big dinner between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. This is very different from the United States because we eat lunch and dinner earlier than Spaniards. Correspondingly, there are not many gyms or fitness centers in Spain because they do a lot of walking as their means of exercise. In my host city Toledo, there are no gyms because it is comprised of a great amount of steep hills, which allows people to burn calories throughout the day. The main means of transportation is walking except for further distances, which would require a train or a bus. Also, I noticed people enjoy leisure walking for shopping or before and after eating a meal. Comparatively, in the United States of America, we tend to drive when we go out to eat because most restaurants are not within walking distance. So instead of walking the consumed food off right after a meal, we get back in a car and drive home to be sedentary for the rest of the night.

Street in Toledo 2 Sierra Riley 16J Spain ARSC Internship  micro smStreet in Toledo Sierra Riley 16J Spain ARSC Internship micro smStreet in Toledo 3 Sierra Riley 16J Spain ARSC Internship  micro sm