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Born to Rest

harvardmagazine.com

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Re: Born to Rest

#21

Post by Jtsummers »

themartorana wrote: post #18

"But humans also “evolved with a very large stick: if you didn’t exercise, you had nothing to eat.” Exercise was mandatory. For many humans today, he points out, there are very few incentives and no penalties." Not entirely true - in fact further down in the article: "Furthermore, says HUHS director Paul Barreira, the same surveys show that students’ own sense of health and well-being tracks the amount of exercise th…

Those penalties are less direct, however. It makes it harder for people to draw the immediate correlation between the two. Hunger drove a sufficient level of fitness to obtain food to satisfy hunger (not in the sense of encouraging the person to do push-ups, but it encouraged them to literally move and obtain sustenance, ideally before they were too weak to do so). Unhappiness doesn't lead to movement until thought and reason are applied to recognize the causal or correlative nature of unfitness and poor mental health.

Re: Born to Rest

#22

Post by Finnucane »

Jtsummers wrote: post #10
BasLeijdekkers wrote: post #6

If we have always been lazy, why is there now an obesity epidemic? It seems to me that means the cause of obesity lies elsewhere.

Prior to the 20th century (depending on where you live, but this is for the areas hit with obesity epidemics): 1. You had to walk most places (often miles a day). 2. You had to physically labor. Most people didn't have desk jobs or the period's equivalent. 3. Food was relatively scarce, and harder to transport. 4. Social activities (we are social creatures) required physical effort (walking to, dancing, walking aroun…

The expansion of ranching and farming in the great plains of the Americas was sufficiently bountiful to lead to the first 'health food' crazes of the early 20th century--more people had enough to eat, and increasing automation was already reducing labor. So the roots of our current problem were already being planted, as it were. But in the last 30-40 years, there's been a noticeable uptick in average caloric consumption, even more reduced activity, and more of those calories (at least in the US) coming from processed foods with ever-larger quantities of sugar.

Re: Born to Rest

#23

Post by justinator »

Is there actually any evidence that ancient hunter gatherer groups didn't do what we now call "exercise" on a voluntary basis? Some ideas come to mind: dancing, walkabouts, spirit quests, right of passage rituals, ?ancient forms of martial arts? I am compelled to believe that early man did things merely to do them, including exercise.

Re: Born to Rest

#24

Post by Jtsummers »

jacalata wrote: post #19
Jtsummers wrote: post #12

I'm a fan of bringing back physical education. It seems that more of my younger colleagues (~23-30 y.o.) are trying to be physically active/fit. But exercise is a habit. If you don't build it up when you're young, it can be hard to develop it later. And then there's the physical challenges of returning to a physically active life after years or decades of inactivity. Certain injuries are more likely (like back, knee,…

Bringing it back? Is it no longer offered?

Speaking specifically of college, I'm unfamiliar with current K-12 requirements in the US. Physical education is no longer required at most universities. Not even one or two semesters. It is offered. But so is going outside for a jog, or dropping to the floor and doing push-ups and sit-ups. The issue is one of motivation. If students (really, people) aren't feeling motivated to be active then they won't. Attaching a grade and a graduation requirement to it gives them an immediate motivator.

The hope, then, is that this pattern of physical activity remains with them throughout their life. Ideally also paired with courses on nutrition and diet.

Re: Born to Rest

#25

Post by themartorana »

jacalata wrote: post #19
Jtsummers wrote: post #12

I'm a fan of bringing back physical education. It seems that more of my younger colleagues (~23-30 y.o.) are trying to be physically active/fit. But exercise is a habit. If you don't build it up when you're young, it can be hard to develop it later. And then there's the physical challenges of returning to a physically active life after years or decades of inactivity. Certain injuries are more likely (like back, knee,…

Bringing it back? Is it no longer offered?

Not in all places even where required by law.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-skipping-phys-ed-class...

Re: Born to Rest

#26

Post by sotojuan »

Jtsummers wrote: post #24
jacalata wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bringing it back? Is it no longer offered?

Speaking specifically of college, I'm unfamiliar with current K-12 requirements in the US. Physical education is no longer required at most universities. Not even one or two semesters. It is offered . But so is going outside for a jog, or dropping to the floor and doing push-ups and sit-ups. The issue is one of motivation. If students (really, people) aren't feeling motivated to be active then they won't. Attaching a…

I can see a bunch of college students angry and complaining that their college feels like high school and that their money/time is wasted in such classes.

Re: Born to Rest

#27

Post by thesmallestcat »

Jtsummers wrote: post #15
rubidium wrote: post #11

Modern solution to campus exercise requirement: Put the dining hall 1 mile away from the dorms.

And remove cheap, high calorie, low nutrition foods. No reason schools ought to provide students with tons of mac & cheese, they can do that to themselves. Give them healthy, nutritious options with the meal plans, and let them spend extra on the unhealthy stuff if they really want it.

Yea, starve the skinny students!

Re: Born to Rest

#28

Post by thesmallestcat »

sotojuan wrote: post #26
Jtsummers wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking specifically of college, I'm unfamiliar with current K-12 requirements in the US. Physical education is no longer required at most universities. Not even one or two semesters. It is offered . But so is going outside for a jog, or dropping to the floor and doing push-ups and sit-ups. The issue is one of motivation. If students (really, people) aren't feeling motivated to be active then they won't. Attaching a…

I can see a bunch of college students angry and complaining that their college feels like high school and that their money/time is wasted in such classes.

As they should, if you're looking for fitness you can get a personal trainer and then some for that kind of money. And focus on self-improvement instead of checking some box to graduate. We're talking about adults here, after all.

Re: Born to Rest

#29

Post by Jtsummers »

thesmallestcat wrote: post #28
sotojuan wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see a bunch of college students angry and complaining that their college feels like high school and that their money/time is wasted in such classes.

As they should, if you're looking for fitness you can get a personal trainer and then some for that kind of money. And focus on self-improvement instead of checking some box to graduate. We're talking about adults here, after all.

No, we're talking about students, and institutions intended to prepare them for the world after graduation. Fitness is a critical element of mental and physical well-being. Consequently, it's entirely reasonable to place physical education within the scope of a university.

Re: Born to Rest

#30

Post by Jtsummers »

thesmallestcat wrote: post #27
Jtsummers wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And remove cheap, high calorie, low nutrition foods. No reason schools ought to provide students with tons of mac & cheese, they can do that to themselves. Give them healthy, nutritious options with the meal plans, and let them spend extra on the unhealthy stuff if they really want it.

Yea, starve the skinny students!

Why would they starve? Are skinny students only capable of eating unhealthy, carb-loaded, crap? Most healthy skinny people I know eat fruits, vegetables, and moderate amounts of meat, dairy and carbs, or they run 20 miles a day.
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