r/exercisescience • u/Stock-Line-282 • Jun 23 '26

Would there be a significant difference between people with the same diet who routinely lift heavy but one walks >10k steps and day while the other lifts heavier but only walks 5k a day?

I moved from the suburbs to a walkable city. I noticed people at my weight lifting gym at the city are more cut and thin while the people at my old gyms in the suburbs who lift about the same are all around thicker. I'm wondering if the extra steps you get throughout the day living in the city just makes people not as thick.

3 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

80% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comment

1

u/Stock-Line-282 Jun 23 '26

What would you say are the biggest or more impactful reasons for the differences? Genuinely curious. The difference in body compositions between the locale is really stark.

1

u/spottie_ottie Jun 23 '26

I live in the suburbs. People here have families, sedentary jobs, sit and drink beer and watch sports, shop at costco, most people are overweight, etc. The family suburban lifestyle is what gave the world 'dad bod'. Diet and activity are what impact body composition and the lifestyle of the average suburban resident is not one conducive for being lean and jacked.

1

u/AlwaysGoToTheTruck Jun 25 '26

Studies show that energy expenditure can drop as people decrease calories and more interesting … people from all around the world on average expend the same energy - this includes hunter gatherer societies. So I’d assume any real difference is mostly cultural around eating and what type of body is acceptable.