Do you think the lack of mobility in Americans have contributed to the obesity problem?

Question

I remember as a child in the 70's children walked to school ( I walked 8 blocks sun or snow) many times the mothers walked their children to school, businessmen rode their bikes to the train depot to take the train into the city, and people walked alot of places even though they had cars. It seems today that people jump into their cars, sit on their butts on their way to work and then plop themselves down at their desks and fill themselves full of fast food for breakfast and lunch. I don't remember there being that many overweight kids in my school and now I remember going to my child's school when they were in elementary and seeing kids bigger than me. I weigh about 100, so they had to weigh alot more and they were only 10 or 12.

Answer 1

Definitely. The only people in my area who walk anywhere (to the bus stop, specifically) are the Hispanic immigrants on their way to physical labor. Everyone else drives. Everyone (including the immigrants) comes home and parks themselves in front of their tv's and computers--no one has a vegetable or flower garden anymore, and a lot of the whites hire "lawn care" firms to do that stuff for them. Also, I see fewer and fewer kids playing sports on their own--I remember playing baseball often as I grew up, but I never see modern kids out playing the game or any other sport just for fun, unless it's part of some organized league (the one exception is basketball). And statistics show we all eat more, on the average, than we used to, which means that although we use fewer calories exercising, we are taking more calories in, so of course now the majority of the population is overweight.

Answer 2

There's recent evidence of food addiction in many people, too. But yes, lots of things, including lack of mobility, might be the cause. Of course, with all the cool electronic toys now (as opposed to the 70's), it's easier to park your butt and stare at a screen than go outside and make up a game.

Answer 3

The Sedentary States of America. The US government and its rich friends in the oil industry might have conspired to make sure we all depend heavily on our cars. That might be why they don't build good public transportation systems--with the exception of Portland, new york, and some other cities but i don't know which they are. But actually, the whole obesity thing has more to do with "insulin resistance" than anything else. Google, er, rather, Yahoo! it to find out more.

Answer 4

I think a stunning lack of self-control is the cause, and now your reapign what you've sown.