Fat People="an extra 60 mega tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions"

College Life
61

<p>I think the link between poverty and being overweight has a lot more to do with food than working out. A lot of middle class to upper class people don’t go to the gym, don’t really “work out”, but they can afford better food to eat. Hell, I’ve never worked out at the gym a day in my life, and I’m thin, because I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford good food, which I eat in regular portions and not supersized. </p>

<p>You don’t need a gym to exercise. Running or jogging around the block or doing jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, etc, in your home is all free. There are lots of work out videos, even for yoga and pilates, on YouTube. But poor people have less time to exercise as well. Still, I think it comes down to food. </p>

<p>When people look at someone who’s morbidly obese, they don’t generally think “thyroid problem”, they think he ate his weight in donuts to get there. If thyroid/hormone problems were the only things that resulted in obesity, the percentage of obese people around the globe would be relatively similar, but some nations have a ridiculous obesity rate. 30% of Americans didn’t get morbidly obese from thyroid problems, and 30% of us don’t live in poverty.</p>

62

<p>Last time I checked you didn’t need a gym membership to go jogging. If I am unaware that you do, please let me know. </p>

<p>Also I think its a scam that there are no supermarkets in poor areas. I come from a very poor area and we surly had supermarkets. On CNN’s Black in America they had a lady who lived in Harlem, NY. She complained she was poor and there were no supermarkets in the Area. The moment i watched this I said to myself. I know that area pretty well, sounds like a scam. I researched it a bit and she had 4 supermarkets in her area who will deliver for free. All you need to do is call in or go online to place a order. The best part is that one of them was Fairway, one of the worlds first super markets to deliver. Its famous for such.</p>

63

<p>Ok, I will criticize you using your pseudo-major and a class you took from some old bald guy (or girl?!) as proof that being slightly overweight is great for reasons besides you expressing the characteristic.</p>

64

<p>no reasons*</p>

<p>btw I just got back from the gym…that 40 minute cardio workout was great.</p>

65

<p>^As long as it wasn’t an elliptical… those things are worthless.</p>

66

<p>elliptical’s are actually pretty effective and alot better on the joints and skeletal system.</p>

67

<p>I’m not saying that it’s great. I’m just saying that you can’t blame many people entirely for being overweight and that it is not okay to revile people for it. </p>

<p>It’s fine and dandy to say that people have the choice to eat right and to exercise, but if you can’t afford what is nutritious and you are so busy trying to just survive, these things just aren’t your priorities. </p>

<p>Also, Dr. Horse, the situation that you describe isn’t really applicable to a lot of people because the majority of places don’t deliver. At least, there isn’t a single grocery store around here that does. I’d also like to know how the prices of fresh produce in these supermarkets compare to other competitors. </p>

<p>Where I live, which is not a terribly poor area, the nearest grocery store is about 25 minutes to a half hour away by walking, this being the closest place that you can buy fresh vegetables and fruits. The bus does not run there. On a nice day, with a small shopping list, this isn’t so bad. But when the weather is cold, hot, raining, snowing, hailing, what have you, and you have to carry home a shopping cart’s worth of food in grocery bags to feed your family, I think pretty much anyone can see where this becomes a problem. If you’re a single parent, who watches the kids while you are gone? Is this a fair burden if you have to work overtime every night to try and make ends meet? Does someone in this circumstance have nearly the same chances of living a healthy lifestyle as someone who can drive to the store during days of inclement weather?</p>

<p>I’m not saying that it’s impossible for people in this type of situation to lead a healthy lifestyle. I just don’t think it’s as fair to have that expectation compared to someone who has access to a lot more resources and education. Hence, people cannot be entirely blamed for their health. </p>

<p>I’d also like to note that my professor is an expert in the field of public health and happens to have a full head of hair. :slight_smile: I don’t see where you can criticize me for applying knowledge gleaned from someone with decades’ worth of expertise in the health field. </p>

<p>I’m not defending being overweight because I am. In fact, I’m not defending being overweight at all. I’m just saying that it’s entirely unfair to make the assumption that because someone is overweight, it is entirely his or her fault, and that it is subsequently okay to hate him or her for it. In my case, it absolutely is my own fault, though I thankfully have never experienced discrimination. (Oddly enough, all I’ve ever gotten is people insisting that “Oh, no, you’re not fat at all.”) In many other cases, however, it is not.</p>

68

<p>For the time you spend on an elliptical, you can get better results with almost anything else.</p>

69

<p>Cant take a Cab? Thats what we do for the rest of our groceries.</p>

70

<p>Not when you don’t have the 7 dollars for the cab. (Pretty accurate fare number without tip.)</p>

71

<p>Its $5 around me to the super market. Buy one of those carts the old ladies push, thats why they are made. I walk to the supermarket all the time, just when I need a lot of things we take a cab.</p>

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<p>It’s not that it’s bad in and of itself- people are better off doing something rather than nothing- but better results can be had with most any other exercise for the same amount of time.</p>

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<p>There’s no substitute for a stint of interval running or skipping rope, but if you need something with no poundage then go on a bike for 2x as long as you would run or jump rope…ellipticals try to do too much lol, but I suppose if you just wanna burn fat (i.e., not get a cardio workout, which requires elevating your heart rate beyond “fat burning” levels) then they’re ok.</p>

74

<p>In retrospect, that was me being a bit snarky about workouts. The average American would most likely benefit from an elliptical workout. Calories burned are calories burned. And they might be good for someone who is overweight and deconditioned, who would probably gas out after a minute of jump roping.</p>