A woman travelling across Europe has sparked a conversation on social media after sharing an observation about the physical independence of older people she encountered during her trip. She noted that she often saw Europeans in their 70s and 80s traveling alone – carrying their own luggage, walking long distances, and navigating airports and cities unaided. It made her wonder if diet, physical activity and lifestyle differences were behind poorer mobility among older Indians.
One user wrote, “This is a cultural difference as well. Walking in Europe is much more preferred compared to travel by car and people are used to this since they are young. In India, the weather conditions, road conditions are not much that promote walking. Dont think this is a fair comparison. A third commented, “Put it plainly, vast majority of Indians are just utterly lazy, entitled and cannot stand to do any physical activity or work . Add to that a high carb diet not geared to good health; then the results speak for themselves.”
