The Elephant in the room

[Trek420]

Not to politicize the board and I don't care whether you're blue or red or Dem or Republican I think I have found something we all can agree or nearly agree on while different viewpoints will abound:

Question for the group: can bikes, running, exercise along with sensible healthy eating solve or at least help the US health care crisis?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/op...0pollan&st=cse


quote from the article "We’re spending $147 billion to treat obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes, and hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease and the many types of cancer that have been linked to the so-called Western diet. One recent study estimated that 30 percent of the increase in health care spending over the past 20 years could be attributed to the soaring rate of obesity, a condition that now accounts for nearly a tenth of all spending on health care."

[Tri Girl]

Yes, I think you are right. We should invest money in MUP's, bike lanes, and healthier cities (ie: not so spread out you need a car to reasonably get around). Maybe workplaces could offer benefit (insurance) discounts if you can provide documentation that you are active (or something like that).
I would LOVE to see us become healthier and have healthier cities. I live in one of the bottom 10 fattest states (last I checked) and we sure could use some "trimming down." We have hundreds of miles of proposed trails in our city, but very few have been built because of funding issues.

Honestly, tho, as much as I'd like to think that if you made it easy for people they'd become more active- in reality I think "we" are a lazy society and will always choose cars over healthier options. The fact that my co-workers are just flabbergasted and in awe that I ride 3 miles to work everyday (that's SO far- how do you do it?), and that they think that's so unattainable tells me most people are not ready/willing to make big changes. Change is hard.
In my heart of hearts I wish we could change, tho. Maybe one day...

[Trek420]

I have a theory, but no medical experience or training to bear it out.

I think we few, we happy few (active folk) are different. Stuff others think undoable, my 2 mile bike to work, walking the dog before and after work, any work out you do feels GOOD. We want to do this the way others want to sit and veg. Feel the burn, the burn feels good.

Part of my theory is that nearly all of my family does something in the way of a workout or just has an active lifestyle.

Where others strive to sit.

How many of the little things you do, not even the epic ride get a raised eyebrow from your peers? When I get off the elevator on the 2nd floor (no stairs from the 1st) to walk to the 6th and a coworker says "You do that on purpose? When the elevator works? "

[Jolt]

I definitely believe that healthier lifestyles would go a long way toward helping with our health-care problems. Given how much of the health care costs come from chronic diseases that seem to be fairly preventable, getting our society to be more active and eat a healthier diet should cut way down on those costs. The problem is motivating people to change their habits and making it easier for them to succeed. The way things are currently set up, there are some big obstacles: needing a car to get around many places because of the distance and/or road conditions, office jobs requiring one to sit at a desk all day, pressure to overschedule ourselves making it difficult to fit in exercise (since most of the physical activity has been taken out of our daily life) or the time to cook from scratch, the fact that processed junk foods tend to be significantly cheaper than a lot of healthier whole foods, safety issues in some neighborhoods making people afraid to get outside and walk/let their kids outside to play, and I'm sure some of you can think of others. To really solve the problem, there will have to be some major changes in the culture and that will take time. The ideas put forth so far about investing in cycling facilities and offering incentives for people to eat well/be active are good ones. In regards to encouraging cycling, I think an important part of that would be educating the public about sharing the road and following the same rules on a bike as in a car. I would also add community farms/gardens using a CSA model and offering discounts to people for putting in time helping out on the farm (and thereby getting some exercise to boot). Maybe those places could also offer cooking classes featuring whatever is in season and focusing on recipes that are quick and easy. I'm not sure what we can do about the office jobs so many people are stuck in...maybe there would be some way to get some physical activity into the job (and at least some people have the option to commute by bike or on foot).

[Selkie]

I agree with you 100%. It would be great for any sort of activity to be encouraged and I would LOVE to get discounts on insurance, a lower tax rate, etc., due to my active/healthy lifestyle. Maybe that would be a great incentive---lower your federal tax rate if you work out xxxx hours a week!

People are over-scheduled and stressed out. I think a lot more people would take the time to devote to fitness IF they had that luxury of time (which seems to get more precious with every passing year). The big house or even "affordable house" far from work and a 2 hour commute make it nearly impossible for a lot of people.

What is most worrisome is the large number of KIDS who are overweight. And young adults. I'm 46 and am in better shape/health than probably 97% of the females under 35 with whom I work. Of course, I don't have kids, so I ostensibly have more free time to devote to my athletics. [I do have a husband, 3 dogs, a full-time job, and a house, so it can be argued that I'm not completely unencumbered by obligations]. That said, I do so at personal sacrifice -- getting up at an ungodly hour to ride and swim so I can fit in work and home responsibilities.

[Crankin]

While I don't think this has anything to do with politics, I can already hear the people screaming that this would be "too much big government." Sorry, but I just saw the news tape of the protest in DC yesterday. I would like to ask those people what they would do if they lost their job and then got sick...
OK back on topic. This is something that is dear to my heart. But even my well educated, financially well off friends think I am weird for doing what I do. Perhaps some of us are hard wired to be active. My oldest son, while active in the sense of walking everywhere (up to 10 miles) and using public transportation a lot, has done nothing else for fitness. About a month ago, he started riding the old mountain bike we gave him, which is set up for commuting. He is now totally hooked, riding to work at least 3 days a week and once or twice on the weekends. Yesterday, we went to his place, to give him some lights, gloves, and a jacket (all of which we had "hanging around ,") and when I heard him say "I have to ride tomorrow," I thought we have created a monster. But, I think it's in his genes and he sees the writing on the wall in terms of fitness.
It is hard to plan time for fitness or walking/riding to work. I am faced with this now with my new schedule. My day now consists of sitting down all day, and I really hate it. Even though I supposedly live in the second skinniest state in the country, we have virtually no MUTs compared to other places. Unless you live in the city, you need a car...