Of all the challenges facing us in this century, some may find it self-indulgent that I spend an entire week on my number one "pet challenge.” One of my objectives Tuesday morning is to look and see how obesity, a "lifestyle disease" -- let's be honest, a "lifestyle epidemic" -- is directly connected to the environmental and cultural challenges that face our nation and our planet.
Further, I think one of the simplest solutions available to combat obesity (at least on a personal level) is the same solution we can use to address other problems like pollution, climate change, and water shortages. The solution is to "live intentionally." That's a fancy way of saying, "think about what you are doing." If you eat less and exercise more, you will lose weight. If you cut off lights, switch to more energy efficient appliances, use only the water you need, and check the plumbing; then you can reduce your carbon emissions, decrease your energy consumption, and waste less water.
I am curious about whether or not these individual decisions and individual actions can be scaled up to larger cultural entities like families, schools, neighborhoods, towns, cities, and states. A central question of mine is “Can little things add up?” In other words, do personal decisions and personal actions really add up and help us solve problems? Or are we just too disconnected? (Mr. Beitleman originally presented this question to me – in a more elegant manner – last spring. I know he will be hitting on some of these cultural issues and this idea of “emergence” as the class continues.)
We will start with an over view of the raw data (see the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for the latest info), but we will quickly turn the Point of View (POV) from the state, to the individual. What’s your POV on obesity? How do you keep from being another statistic? Imagine you’re one of the Arizona Quints and H.I. McDounnough is in your nursery. How do you see the world? That’s the angle I want to take. We’ll see where it goes.
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i think i should totally move back to china so i can walk to school everyday (jk)...because like sadie said even if i live close enough to school....there are no sidewalks
ReplyDeletealso i just need to MOVE more.....anyway i can
may be instead of sitting and watching my dramas....i can run on the tredmill or do sit ups while i watch TV.
On a personal note, I am building time into my schedule as Mr. Reardon suggested today, and today I drank a lot a water, as Kelsey can attest to, but I also walked/jogged for 15 minutes today. Not a ton, but I think working up to 30 or 45 mins a day will be better than starting off and then getting tired.
ReplyDeleteOn Steven's note, he sure did drink a lot of water yesterday and is on a good start today. Today, I will continue my already somewhat healthy/active lifestyle by joining the other members of the ASFA relay team on our new weekly Thursday run. However, when I run, I like to take it slow and steady, like a turtle =)
ReplyDeleteMy main exercise during the week is usually dance. Dance consumes the majority of my weekends. I think I need to add more dance to my week because it's an exercise I enjoy. Also, I think I need to put more protein into my diet. Being a vegetarian, I don't get the protein most get from meat.
ReplyDeleteOne good way to prevent obesity is to do a physical activity when hanging out with friends, such as hiking or rock climbing, rather than watching movies or something like that. Also, people should bring healthy snacks and water with them rather than stopping for fast food all the time.
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ReplyDeleteThe change I most need to make is eating more often and more frequently. I especially need to start eating in the morning. I could also get more active, but I would prefer to do it through more social activities.
ReplyDeleteLove the RAISING ARIZONA reference and I sincerely hope my fellow 21st C. Challengers got it. If not, run don't walk to the nearest DVD delivery device and watch this classic of idiosyncratic oddball comedy.
ReplyDeleteOkay, on to obesity. As we have chatted about, I totally buy the dire need to be intentional about what we (I) consume, be it food or anything else. I also buy the across-the-board positive impact of being active every day -- something I am simply not doing enough of.
I do have my quibbles with BMI, which I think is a bit of a blunt instrument. I'm also interested in the cultural (there's my favorite word!) implications of focusing on weight. Can't argue with the fact that Americans, on average, are heavier than they were thirty years ago. Probably can't argue with the fact that more weight likely leads to less health.
Stil, I'm not sure how to reconcile all that with what can only be described as a predatory $40 billion weight loss industry -- especially in light of Dr. Safford's claim that it's nearly impossible for folks to lose weight and keep it off.
Mainly I think it's imperative that people know their own bodies and take responsibility for managing their lifestyle (food + activity) choices in the context of their unique genetic predispositions.
I saw a bike in a museum when I was a kid which was connected to a television; when pedaled, it would supply the energy needed to turn on the tube. Wouldn't it be neat if, somehow, all televisions were powered this way- so that if you wanted to watch a 30-minute sitcom, you would have to pedal your way through it? Unrealistic, i know, but it would lower excess weight fast (or at least lower the time spent staring at a screen- cheers either way)!
ReplyDeleteOn the average day I eat four meals. I did not always eat like this but since I started running I don’t feel good if I don’t. I tend to procrastinate, but since I have developed this eating habit I try to do some form of exercise for at least 40 minutes every. That sounds like a lot, especially piled on top of school work and my nearly three hour daily commute to school, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have the time at least 3 or 4 days of the week. Since I began this eating habit I lost four pounds. This was not what I expected my body to do; but considering I don’t like carbonated drinks, eat very little fried foods, and lack any manifestation of deserts in my household; I have much fewer left-over calories than people who are considered overweight.
ReplyDeleteI think I just need to be more active in my daily life. I also should start eating healthier. I don't take in excess calories on most days but I also don't get all the nutrients I need.
ReplyDeleteI eat more than I should, and my diet is not a healthy one (it consists mostly of meats and sweets). For this reasonh I am not exactly sure why I am as skinny as I am. Sure, I get a bit of exercise every now and again, but it doesn't seem like enough. I think that one day all this weight I've been avoiding is gonna hit me like a brick. I hope I'm ready for it when it does. That's why I'm trying to be more active now--get into that sort of lifestyle before it's too late, and that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI need to be able to bike to school...
I decided to look at this from a wider perspective. We, as a society, have moved far away from what we (at least I believe) evolved to do. For 50,000 years, humans were hunter-gatherers, living in small nomadic tribes. This inevitably means we moved A LOT, so our calorie expenditure was fairly high. Being omnivores we ate just about anything, so I think we had enough nutrition in our diets. However, being the moving people that we were, a larger meal was a really welcome sight, which is why I believe humans find high-fat foods so tasty. We evolved that way. Our bodies are also just too good at storing excess energy. What we don't need, we save. Only in today's world, we never expend that energy again. Really, I think so many of the problem that the world faces today in terms of the obesity and overweight epidemic are really because of the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that humans were not really evolved to lead.
ReplyDeleteI like Codrin's idea of evolution. Sometimes it seems we're so caught up in the "controvery" about it that we forget we should continue to do it, because the world is changing constantly.
ReplyDeleteAs to obesity, it's a tricky situation. One thing that might help would be to encourage less meat consumption. Without the demand, producers could grow vegetables, and the increased supply would lower prices. With vegetables cheaper and meat less available, people would turn to healthier eating habits out of economic necessity or advantage (which sometimes seems like the only reason anything gets done).
I think my main hurtle is to get over the unhealthy lifestyle choices the ASFA dorms encourage. Smaller and more frequent meals would be ideal, but it would require bringing my own food. Dinners at school are always deep fried and starch heavy often lacking a vegetarian option. I could go days at a time without going outside if I didn't make a conscious effort. To change my habits I need to start planning ahead for the week: remembering a reusable water bottle, making time to exercise, and bringing food I will actually eat during the week.
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