Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Two big, very noticeable differences between Russia and the USA:

1. Everybody here in Moscow smokes. Well, almost everybody.

2. Nobody here in Moscow is overweight. Well, almost nobody. Our MBA group sat in the Food Court in a popular mall near Red Square, drinking $2 beers, and watched Russians walk by for about 45 minutes looking for somebody who could be considered either “overweight” or “obese.” In that time, we only saw a few Russians, out of many hundreds who walked by, who would be considered overweight, and not a single obese person. Even after being in Moscow for 4 days, I don’t think we’ve seen a single obese Russian, and very, very few overweight Russians. Maybe that’s because they all smoke?