The salsa-fueled truth about movement, meals, and a culture that stays balanced without trying too hard
I’ve lived in Colombia for years and one thing never stops surprising me: fresh-squeezed juice costs less than bottled water…and you don’t see many people built like linebackers. Folks eat rice, arepas, fried patacones, beans—the whole carb family reunion—and yet you’re more likely to spot a six-pack on the guy selling mango with lime than in a U.S. big-box gym. Meanwhile, back in the land of drive-thrus, 70%+ of Americans are overweight or obese. We’ve supersized everything except our self-control.
So what gives? Are empanadas a superfood? Is salsa dancing stronger than CrossFit? Are Colombians sneaking off to 2 a.m. Pilates?
Let’s unpack it—no fat-shaming, no perfection preaching. Just the real differences in lifestyle, food, cities, and habits that keep Colombians closer to healthy without living at the gym.
The U.S. is extreme. Colombia is rhythm.
America does extremes better than anyone: billionaires launching rockets; “My 600-lb Life” on primetime. Ultra-marathoners on one side, 64-oz sodas on the other. It’s a pendulum.
Colombia lives in the middle. It’s routine and rhythm: breakfast, a real lunch (soup, protein, rice/beans, salad, juice), light dinner, call it a day. Fewer binges, fewer “I’m only eating air and vibes this week.” They don’t complicate food. They eat. Then they move on.
Balance is the unsexy “hack” that works.
The everyday movement effect (AKA: why 10,000 steps happens by accident)
American life = car life. Sidewalks end. Errands are a drive. Even the gym starts with…a drive.
Colombian life = foot life. You walk to the fruit stand, the bakery, the bus, the farmacia, up and down hills because the Andes said so. Bike lanes are everywhere, Sunday ciclovía shuts streets for cyclists, and parks are buzzing with all ages.
Movement here isn’t a workout—it’s Tuesday. It’s social too (“la caminata” = therapy walk with a friend). When your city nudges you on your feet all day, you don’t need an 8-week shred program. You need groceries.
Reality check stat: ~92% of U.S. households have a car. In Colombia, registered vehicles equate to <40% ownership. The infrastructure keeps bodies moving.
Steal this: Bundle errands on foot. Choose walkable bases. Make “meet for a walk” your default hangout.
“But they eat fried carbs!” Exactly—and still win. Here’s how.
It’s less what and more how:
Real food, real kitchens. Grandma’s recipes > lab-engineered “cheese-flavored” dust. A patacón is plantain + oil + salt. An arepa is corn + water + salt (and sometimes an egg—hi, arepa con huevo, I love you).
Lunch is the anchor. Soup + protein + rice/beans + small salad + fresh juice. Portions are human. Dessert is minimal. Soda is the exception.
Sweetness dialed down. Colombian desserts taste like dessert, not a sugar dare. Even packaged sweets are less aggressive.
Fewer additives. Similar brands often have simpler ingredient lists here. Fewer emulsifiers, dyes, and high-fructose everything.
All calories aren’t equal. 150 calories of fresh maracuyá juice ≠ 150 calories of neon soda. Your body recognizes fruit. It negotiates with “modified corn syrup product” like a hostage situation.
Portion reality: A “large” in Bogotá is a U.S. “small.” You don’t get a trophy cup for ordering a drink.
Steal this:
Cook 60–70% of meals. Buy ingredients, not products.
Anchor your day with a real lunch; keep dinner light.
Swap candy for fruit, soda for fresh juice (or water + lime).
Half your restaurant plate = tomorrow’s lunch. Normal is enough.
Fast food exists. It just doesn’t run the country.
U.S. fast food is a lifestyle—drive-thrus, delivery, fourth meal. Colombian fast food is…a place you walk into. Fewer sauces, smaller cups, simpler menus. Even the global chains are toned down.
Delivery apps exist (Rappi is king), but it’s still common to walk to the thing. That tiny friction saves waistlines.
Steal this: Make delivery your rainy-day backup, not your default. Build a 10-minute “walk for it” rule for treats.
Cities that make you move vs. cities that make you sit
U.S.: Zoning spreads you out. Sidewalks vanish. Transit is scarce. Everything is a parking lot with a building attached.
Colombia: Dense, mixed-use neighborhoods. Errands are a loop by foot. Transit = built-in steps. Streets are alive; errands are exercise.
Steal this:
When choosing neighborhoods (at home or abroad), prioritize walk score > square footage.
Use transit for built-in activity (walk to/from stops).
If you must drive, park once and walk the rest.
Colombians show up. Men wear proper shoes and a button-down to fly. Women dress to flatter, not to hide. The ideal leans slim—not shredded—“put together and alive.”
Is it perfect? No. Beauty pressure exists (especially for women). But the standard is closer to “healthy daily life” than “photoshoot peak.”
Steal this: Dress like someone who’s leaving the house to live—not to collapse. Bright line: if you’d be embarrassed to be photographed mid-errand, change.
The other side of the coin: trends creeping in
Colombia isn’t immune. Obesity is slowly climbing. Chains expand. Delivery booms. Processed snacks seduce Gen Z. The guardrails—walking culture, home cooking, socializing outside—still exist, but they need protecting.
The lesson for all of us: Keep the defaults that make health automatic.
A quick word on BMI (useful-ish, not gospel)
BMI is blunt. Two people can share a BMI and look wildly different (muscle vs. fluff). But at the population level, it tracks risk pretty well. The U.S. ranks near the top globally for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease; Colombia ranks much lower. A lot of that gap can be explained by daily movement, portion sizes, and food processing.
Steal this: Use the scale and the mirror as data, not judgment. Build habits that make numbers move without obsession.
The Colombian Rules (You Can Actually Keep)
Walk it first. 8–12k daily steps via errands, not treadmills.
Lunch like a local. Soup + protein + rice/beans + salad + juice. Dinner light.
Cook more than you order. Batch a pot of beans, roast a tray of veg, keep eggs + arepas or rice ready.
Shop the block. Produce stands > packaged snacks.
Shrink the treats. Sweet, yes. Huge, no.
Dress to feel alive. You’ll act like the person you see in the mirror.
Make it social. Replace coffee catch-ups with walk-and-talks.
Default simple. Ingredients grandma recognizes win.
If you’re starting from behind (and many of us are)
This isn’t a shame sermon. If you’re carrying extra weight and feeling it in your knees, blood pressure, or energy—start small:
Walk 10 minutes after two meals a day.
Swap one processed snack for fruit or nuts.
Move dinner earlier and smaller.
Pick one “Colombian lunch” day per week and build from there.
Talk to a clinician if you’re considering a specific diet—find one you’ll stick to.
Progress beats perfection. Every. Single. Time.
Final word
Colombia isn’t magically thin. It’s designed—by culture and city—so that health happens by accident. People walk, they cook, they eat real food, and they keep portions sensible. In the U.S., we engineered convenience so well we engineered ourselves into chairs.
You don’t have to move to Bogotá to feel better. You just have to borrow the defaults.
Grab a friend. Grab a juice. Go for a walk. Repeat tomorrow.