[taizee]

I grew up in suburban Dublin, Ireland and was lucky to have a safe place to play and could walk all over the neighborhood. My parents restricted TV - it was sh**ty anyway. My schools had very good exercise programs, too, and I think that has added to lifelong fitness. My sister, on the other hand, 11 years younger was spoiled more in what she could eat, by then my parents were more worried about her being outside the house, the school she went to didn't have sports fields (development had come along and built over my old school) She now has weight problems.

I think high activity in our early years is so important for lifelong health. How a town/city is built makes a difference. Walking to the local shops, to school, to a friends house. This should be normal.

Abnormal is the modern suburbs, that are even now in Europe. The grids of American cities are totally geared towards the motorized vehicle. Some of the bikeways are really nice, but you still have to take a car to get to them. I bike here in Boise, but have constantly to look over my shoulder to make sure that I can safely manouver.

I don't blame Americans for being lazy, well not all of them, they are living in a system of development that is out of control - the rest of the world isn't immune and is catching up.

[Wren]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hope_full', 'H')aving visited New York, Boston and Chicago (with good mass transit systems), I've observed that their poplace is much leaner. Getting out and walking - just a few blocks every day - is apparently an easy way to NOT GET OBESE.

The Midwest is awash in overweight people, partly because the area is so boring and the weather is so crummy and there's no place to go and nothing to do. Many little towns have no culture and folks just sit around and wait for the latest movie with chain saws and snakes to hit the local video rental store.

[Kingcoal]

When I used to work in Philly, I would walk a mile to the train station, get off at 8th and Market and walk another mile to work. On the way home, the reverse. At lunch, we would often walk over to Chinatown. In all, I was walking a good 4 to 5 miles per day. In my present job I walk around a lot in construction sites. A project manager I worked with on one site put a mileage counter on his belt and came up with about 7 miles everyday. I've had jobs that I drove to and sat in a cube all day. I got fat, gaining about 25 lbs. One of the main reasons I could never go back to being an office worker is the impact on my health. It's not natural to sit in front of a computer all day. It's tedious and wears you out mentally, which makes you tired and not wanting to work out.

Humans were designed from the ground up to walk. Our legs take up most of our bodies because we are designed to do a hell of a lot of walking. That's what we are; walkers. Having a person sit all day is like taking a fish out of the ocean and putting them in a tiny pot with water. They want to swim, that's what they do, it's what they are designed to do.

[sittinguy]

Our nieghborhood bitched for a sidewalk for years. Finally a lady that was one of the first to live in our hood got hit and killed.

Soon after we saw some surveyers for side walks.

Almost 10 YEARS later they built the sidewalk, its been a year now and they still aren't done

[heroineworshipper]

Most towns aren't designed for walking. There are few sidewalks & no easy street access from the apartments.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Olaf', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', 'I') hear it all the time. I CANT ...well you can START. It is one step at a time. I KNOW. I hate to excercise. BORING and HARD. and WHINING>

I do not know why we are so opposed to excercise. But we are. We have escalators to go up one flight of stairs, elevators for more, drive to the fast food place, drive thru so we dont have to walk in, ride, ride, ride. Sad really.

I am a product of that generation dont get me wrong. One in 4 ppl with diabetes in America now. GOOD LORD> Most due to lifestyle choices. Cant keep our mouths shut.

I sit down in the evenings after supper and want a snack. WHATS with that? Cant be hungry. I live on a shady curvy street and ppl walk here a lot. Good to see and at least they are trying.

Join a gym, get a trainer and get started. TURN off the television, plant a garden or walk in the evenings. MOVE YOUR ASS ppl.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')I am intensely critical of America but I love the place and it's my home.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')I am intensely critical of America but I love the place and it's my home.

[seldom_seen]

I walk a simple 25 minutes to and from work. My co-workers think I am some sort of masochistic iron man triathlete.

[seldom_seen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') am intensely critical of America but I love the place and it's my home.

[jlw61]

One summer I walked to work nearly every day. Ever walk to work in a suit and tie? Thanks, but I don't have that much money for dry cleaning.

Ever walk to work in 90+ degree weather? If the office doesn't have a locker room then you stink a lot.

Ever walk to work through a high crime area? No thanks, I'd put the miles onto my car instead.

Walking in the city takes up to an hour to go 3 miles (you have to stop for stop lights also). So that's 2 hours out of a person's day. A lot of people don't have those extra hours. Additonally, if you have kids, you can and do need to leave unexpectidly from time to time.

Do I walk? Sure, I put in several miles each week and I also use my bicycle on my time. Sorry, but going to/from work is not the time to be walking. I've lost over a hundred pounds in about a year and have another 50 to go.

My secret? I became PO aware and realized the fertilizer is moving towards the air circulation device. An impending disaster focuses one's energy, so don't worry, because more than likely in less than a decade we'll be a nation of skinny people walking alot once again.

[Peepers]

Landmass doesn't equal sprawl. See China and Russia. Even Canadian cities are more densely developed than their American counterparts. What did it for America was its early discovery and use of oil in large quantities, its "distrust government at all costs" approach to everything including urban planning, its escaping of virtually all damage during World War II, and the early lobbying power which the automobile, oil and highway interests amassed early on in America.

But I think this says it all more succinctly.....

[Wren]

Heineken, your entire last post on this thread was right on IMO. Although, I don't think there's much to feel good about John McCain!

[heroineworshipper]

The other reason is jobs in US have to be location based to pay the amount of money it takes for housing. You're basically paid to be in an inaccessible location. Jobs which don't have to be in an inaccessible location are done in Asia.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Wren', 'H')eineken, your entire last post on this thread was right on IMO. Although, I don't think there's much to feel good about John McCain!

[Wren]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Wren', 'H')eineken, your entire last post on this thread was right on IMO. Although, I don't think there's much to feel good about John McCain!

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jlw61', 'D')o I walk? Sure, I put in several miles each week and I also use my bicycle on my time. Sorry, but going to/from work is not the time to be walking. I've lost over a hundred pounds in about a year and have another 50 to go.

[Heineken]

That remark seems unkind, Pretorian, but it's possible you didn't mean it that way.

[alokin]

Austalia is not better. The problem is mainly not education. Here in Australia i do have a car and cycle only a bit and walk forth and back to school kindi and so on. But in Germany I had no car used the bike for everything, walked and had some kilos less.

It is more a problem of unsuitable urban planning.Redidential roads often ends nowhere and there are only the main roads leading to somewhere. Even if there are sidewalks (and they are very narrow here) it is just no fun riding your bike along major roads. But most often there are motorways or similar big roads were there is simply no sidewalk and it is to dangerous to ride your bike there.
In Europe we have more a grid or a similar system. In my town, which is very hilly, there are many stairs which are shortcuts from one road to the other.

I think in Australia they should buy back strips of bckyards to construct connecting footpathes between the "wormy" formed residential roads. There should be much more crossing for the major roads (but the latter may be less important in the coming years).

Once people get used that going somewhere is driving the result are weird, that people use their cars even for five or ten minutes walk. And the kids are not used to walk at all.