Is Boston Traffic Making You Fat?

Boston is notorious for having bad drivers and bad traffic, it's something we're not proud of but it's a well known fact about us. People from all over the country say that we are the worst drivers and getting behind the wheel in Greater Boston is a nightmare.

What comes first, us being bad drivers or having bad traffic? Do we drive aggressively because there's so much traffic congestion? Or is their so much traffic because we are bad drivers? I have to go with the former, we have too many cars on too few roads, leading to some of the worst traffic in the country.

So now there is a new concern about being stuck in traffic every day, it's not just getting high blood pressure spikes or racing heart rates. No, it's your belly. That's correct, Boston traffic could be making you fat.

It sounds crazy until you think about it. Say you leave work around 5 and dive into traffic on any of our major roadways. Chances are very likely that you will be sitting in your vehicle for a while, for some people who travel 15 or so miles out of the city, you can count on at least an hour or more to get home.

When that happens you start thinking about how getting home and cooking dinner is too much effort and start looking for an easier way out. That invariably means you're probably going to stop somewhere to "pick up dinner"

A new study in the "Journal of Urban Economics" found heavy traffic makes us gain weight and it really comes down to what food choices we make for dinner while sitting in your car.

Researchers looked at three years' worth of traffic and GPS data.  And they found heavy traffic made people more likely to eat fast food, especially for dinner.

When stuck in traffic for a long period of time most people do not opt to go to a grocery to buy uncooked food to prepare when getting home. If they do stop by a grocery store on their way home, they opt for the store's "take out" food options.

One way of staving off that nightly stop at a fast food restaurant is to prepare ahead of time and pre-plan your meals so that when you get home half the battle is already won. The other half is having the determination to actually cook the food.

The other hack is to keep some light snacks in the car, like crackers or something moderately healthy that can tie you over until you get home.

(NY Post)

The United States continues to be one of the most congested countries for traffic in the world. Our cities are constantly flooded with commuters and make for horrible traffic conditions on a daily basis. Each year there are several platforms that do surveys about the cities in America with the worst traffic and Boston is consistently in the top 5. This year is no different.

Geolocation technology specialist, TomTom, has just released its annual traffic index for 2023. Their findings came from assessing time, cost and CO2 emission per mile driven. While many will say the top 10 isn't too surprising, many will also say that it is shocking Los Angeles is NOT #1. Before we get to the top 7, it should be noted that traffic isn't necessarily always a bad thing. Experts say that heavy traffic means a thriving economy. It shows that people are going out and spending money.

It is also interesting to note that Boston is consistently in the top 10 no matter which platform is doing the rankings. As a matter of fact, last year transportation analytics company INRIX found that Boston had the #4 worst traffic in the ENTIRE WORLD! It was determined that in 2022, traffic cost the average Boston driver $2,270. So did Boston actually improve for 2023? Let's take a look at the top 7 cities in the country for the worst traffic according to TomTom.

Travel time actually increased in Seattle in 2023. I find it interesting that TomTom also lets you know when is the worst time to drive in each city. For Seattle, the worst time to drive is Thursdays between 5-6pm. The average speed you're driving during Seattle morning rush hour is 21mph.

https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/seattle-traffic/

Travel time actually increased in Baltimore last year. It ranks 135 in the entire world for traffic. The day and times to avoid driving in Baltimore are Wednesdays between 5-6pm. The average speed during the morning rush in Baltimore is 19 mph.

Travel time decreased in Chicago last year. Chicago's traffic actually ranks 128 in the entire world. The worst day to travel last year was September 15, it was a Friday. The day/time to avoid driving in Chicago: Thursdays between 5-6pm.

I highly disagree with Boston's ranking but according to TomTom, travel time increased in Boston last year. We rank 97 in the entire world for worst traffic. The worst day of travel last year was September 14. It was a Thursday. The worst day/time for traffic in Boston: Thursdays between 5-6pm.

Travel time didn't change in San Francisco last year. It's the second city in California to make the top 10 this year. It ranks 71 in the entire world. You're only traveling 16 mph during rush hour in San Francisco. Avoid driving Wednesdays between 5-6pm.

https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/san-francisco-traffic/

Travel time increased in D.C. last year.  It ranks 55 in the entire world for traffic. 205 hours were spent driving last year for the average driver. Much like other cities, the days/time to avoid driving is Wednesdays between 5-6.

No, Los Angeles is NOT #1. In fact, it's not even in the top 5. NYC ranks 20 in the entire world for traffic. Travel time increased last year. Avoid driving on Thursdays between 4-5pm.