[oowolf]

Here's one American who has walked over 25,000 miles since May 1997.

[WildRose]

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

[wisconsin_cur]

Aussies more obese than Americans

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ustralia has a higher proportion of obese people than the United States, with the health system facing a "fat bomb" unless action is taken, a study warned Thursday.

The report from the Baker Heart Institute found that 70 percent of men and 60 percent of women aged 45-65 had a body mass index of 25 or more, meaning they were overweight or obese.

Titled "Australia's Future Fat Bomb," the study compiled the results of height and weight checks carried out on 14,000 adult Australians in 2005.

The institute's head of preventative cardiology professor Simon Stewart said the results meant Australia probably had the highest rate of obesity in the world, outweighing even the United States.

"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal problem now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing," he said.

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'H')ere's one American who has walked over 25,000 miles since May 1997.

[PonyBoy78]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WildRose', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'H')ere's one American who has walked over 25,000 miles since May 1997.

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PonyBoy78', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WildRose', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'H')ere's one American who has walked over 25,000 miles since May 1997.

[Heineken]

Extremely sorry to hear of your loss, WildRose. I dread the day it happens to my dog (she's going on seven and still as frisky as wind-blown paper cup).

Years ago we lost a rottweiler after 11 years with her. She was "something else"!

The best medicine for you will be a new puppy, after a suitable period. May I suggest a pound puppy? The need is so great.

Non-dog people can't understand how we dog people feel about this stuff.

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'E')xtremely sorry to hear of your loss, WildRose. I dread the day it happens to my dog (she's going on seven and still as frisky as wind-blown paper cup).

Years ago we lost a rottweiler after 11 years with her. She was "something else"!

The best medicine for you will be a new puppy, after a suitable period. May I suggest a pound puppy? The need is so great.

Non-dog people can't understand how we dog people feel about this stuff.

[joelcolorado]

THIS is about ppl who DONT walk. DUH.....sorry bout the dogs etc. but not what its about. Nor about ppl who walk their legs off.

I love to go to Walmart and park way out and walk in, watching ppl circle and circle looking for a closer spot. Cant walk that extra 100 feet to the door.

We have lost our ability to work hard and hence to survive in tough times.

[TreebeardsUncle]

Well, the modern car-oriented developed patterns as well as producing sterile homogenous environments also lead to isolation, diabetes, hear disease, obesity etc.

Expect when gasoline gets up to about $15/gallon, folks in America will walk a bit more.

At $10/gallon, it will break the suv fad.

By $15/gallon, the working class will have to walk or ride bikes and use buses.

Don't think that will happen at $7/gallon. They can still use debt at that level.
g

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WildRose', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'E')xtremely sorry to hear of your loss, WildRose. I dread the day it happens to my dog (she's going on seven and still as frisky as wind-blown paper cup).

Years ago we lost a rottweiler after 11 years with her. She was "something else"!

The best medicine for you will be a new puppy, after a suitable period. May I suggest a pound puppy? The need is so great.

Non-dog people can't understand how we dog people feel about this stuff.

[joelcolorado]

I know ppl still have cable tv, internet, gym memberships etc. so its not that bad yet. And the mall parking lot is full so someone is shopping.

There are many ways to cut back but no one is yet. NOW, there are a lot of poor ppl that are at the end however. And those on fixed incomes are having a hard time I am sure.
Everyone else is still driving like a mad man. Ppl driving all over the state to ball games too. When will that end. I dont know. Probably at about $10 a gallon. That makes a trip to a ball game cost $120 plus eats and tickets in etc. That will cull them out. I think this year, you will see less parents traveling to the events out of town.

Of course the schools will still go go go as they can raise taxes to keep that going. DONT THEY GET IT>>>>we are broke too.

[oowolf]

Dog dead; mate dead; now walk alone:
http://www.smickandsmodoo.com/lyrics/illwalk.htm

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'D')og dead; mate dead; now walk alone:
http://www.smickandsmodoo.com/lyrics/illwalk.htm

[WildRose]

Just a couple of thoughts:

If more parents walked their kids to school, from a very young age, instead of driving, the kids would probably develop more of a life-long habit of walking.

Remember how we used to see kids delivering papers, flyers, etc.? Where I live, it's now much more common to see adults delivering newspapers by car. I guess there could be some safety issues here as well, for the kids, I mean.

[mommy22]

When my husband and I were looking for a house to buy, one of my criteria was that I need to to be able to walk the girls to school. Well, it's been really great over the last 8 years to be able to do that...every day, unless it is absolutely a frigid morning or pouring down rain, we walk. 1/2 mile (on sidewalks, fortunately) every morning and afternoon. But, it's crazy to see my neighbors heating up their car for 20 minutes, then drive them to the school. There, they have to wait in a long line to drop the kid off! Mind you, even a few who literally live3-4 houses away, will drive their kids to school. It's crazy! It will be interesting to see if this fall, they change their habits, due to gas prices. Habits are hard to break, we'll see if anyone breaks theres. They've seen me walk my girls to school for years...smiling and waving as they pass..maybe they will join us on the sidewalk one day! Usually, I plan trips to the bank, CVS, hair stylist, or other errand at about 9:00 so that I just continue walking after getting my daughter to school and with that, it's only 20 minutes extra walking.
Fortunately, my town has sidewalks that are even being expanded upon. For example: the High School has sidewalks coming from all sides of the school, which is great for those kids who live on the side of the main (extrememly busy and dangerous) drag in town. Those of us whose kids live in the section of town that we live in would have to ride their bikes nearly 1 mile extra just to cross the road safely. Well, this past year, they installed traffic lights at the intersection that will make that pretty easy for kids to get to the high school on thei bikes or scooters. So, at least one community is making some changes. Kids who live in rural districts may have to change habits and ride the bus because they can't afford gas money. If there continues to be bus service, that is...that's a whole other issue!

[WildRose]

mommy22, there are so many benefits to walking your kids to school, as I'm sure you have experienced. You can do the "walk and talk" thing, as I call it, just sharing the events of the day and talking about what you encounter on your walk. Fresh air, exercise, feeling comfortable in your own neighborhood. Quality time with your kids!

We (hubby and me and our three "big" kids) still like to walk, to get a few groceries or go and rent a movie, or a 3-mile round trip out for breakfast, or visiting someone, instead of driving.

I know a lot of people are hesitant to let their kids walk to school because of safety issues, but really, I've often thought that the solution to that would be groups of kids walking together, watching out for each other.

[mommy22]

Thanks, WildRose, yes the talking is really a great way to connect about our days. Plus, there is always some kind of weather to talk about (the freshness of the morning air, how the dew sparkels in the sun, how the icicles off the maple trees taste maple syruppy (really! try a little taste next winter!). We wouldn't have those conversations if stuck in a car for the time it takes to drive to school.
What's also nice is that they are learning how it feels to walk somewhere...something that a lot of kids are missing out on. We lived for a time in a big city, and when our friends came to visit, the visiting children were always whining after a couple of city blocks. My girls just kind of looked at their friends as if they were crazy....they've been walking a lot since they were old enough to! Kids move pretty much only on the playing field or gym class today, I think. In fact...that's an excuse I've heard from moms who drive little Johnny to school every day...that they have to save up their energy for soccer later in the day. Whatever......

[lowem]

It might a bit hard to get people to walk for miles without sidewalks. If you guys want to walk, you might want to think about what it might be like to live in a place like this :



This is the shopping mall near my home. It's not gigantic but it has almost everything I might typically look for - a couple of bank branches, ATM machines, clothing stores, electronics store, a supermarket, restaurants. There is also a public library on the top floor.

There is a bus interchange on the far side of the building and there is what you would call a subway running underneath. We call it the MRT. The tracks you see on the right side of the picture going into the shopping mall are the LRT - it is a light rail system. Here's a photo from the station platform :



I live just across the road from all this. It is a 5 minute walk, and to cross the road, there is an overhead bridge that has an up-going escalator (stairs on the other side to get down).

[lowem]

... that is, if you don't really mind living in one of those boxes in mid-air that you see in the background ...

How's that for high-density living? Each of the housing blocks above easily house around 100 families in a land footprint roughly equivalent to about 4 average American homes.

That's the secret sauce.