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Born to Rest

harvardmagazine.com

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Re: Born to Rest

#41

Post by 6DM »

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?

Even in 2006, when I was still in high school, most of the time in gym class the teacher would just roll out a ball. There was no other physical fitness type of classes.

I think at best once a year we were measured. There was no requirement of anything, just a hey let's see what everyone can do and record it, kind of thing.

It should be noted that in larger schools it is most likely different. This is just my personal experience.

Re: Born to Rest

#42

Post by Jtsummers »

CalRobert wrote: post #38
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…

Considering that gym class was hell on Earth for some of us fat people and we greatly looked forward to the liberation of college, I think the idea of mandatory PE is horrible. PE is usually taught in a manner that's great if you're already fit, and atrocious if you're fat. It's hard on the joints and exemplifies how much weaker/slower/less valuable to society you are compared to the fit kids. I know this because I W…

High school and middle school PE were fucking miserable for me. I wasn't fat, but I was slow and in a group with very fit (naturally or by practice) guys. I was also uncoordinated as I had a massive growth spurt and, being extremely near sighted, wasn't active in any typical sport so my coordination lagged behind for years.

College PE is different. It's not (usually) a general class. You typically pick which one you want. Weight lifting, running, cycling, golf, swimming, etc. This means you're working on a physical activity that you enjoy or have some moderate interest in, unless you truly despise moving and can't even find one thing in the list that interests you (and somehow never fits into your schedule over the 4 years of college).

And all those options were at a cheap, no-name state school.

EDIT: As well, you typically end up setting your own goals within the constraints of the course. Usually an A requires: Be fitter/healthier/faster/stronger than when you started.

Re: Born to Rest

#43

Post by mmanfrin »

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.

Do you think a hundred years ago you'd be employed as a programmer, sitting at a desk?

Re: Born to Rest

#44

Post by mmanfrin »

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…

Sedentary lifestyles were a very small minority up until a generation or two ago. Two generations is not at all enough to see evolutionary yields.

Re: Born to Rest

#45

Post by komali2 »

CalRobert wrote: post #38
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…

Considering that gym class was hell on Earth for some of us fat people and we greatly looked forward to the liberation of college, I think the idea of mandatory PE is horrible. PE is usually taught in a manner that's great if you're already fit, and atrocious if you're fat. It's hard on the joints and exemplifies how much weaker/slower/less valuable to society you are compared to the fit kids. I know this because I W…

Well, this feels obvious, but let's say the required PE classes have skilled professors that can adjust a PE program to your fitness level? Would your opinion change then?

Re: Born to Rest

#46

Post by Jtsummers »

thesmallestcat wrote: post #40
Jtsummers wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Capable? No, people with the sort of metabolism I'm talking about need that (high carb/protein) on top of the healthy diet you described. Removing that dining option to keep fatsos from gorging themselves doesn't seem fair. High calorie food lets me get adequate energy from a reasonably-sized dish. A brief skinny manifesto: I hate how the world caters to the obese. Thermostat kept at low temperature in all seasons be…

> A brief skinny manifesto: I hate how the world caters to the obese. Thermostat turned way down in the winter/up in the summer because of fat insulation. Replace high calorie options with high fiber so their overworked/stretched system feels "full." All diet/nutrition advice biased towards losing weight. The list goes on... and things geared towards losing weight/being comfortable as an obese person naturally are useless or make life worse for somebody for whom weight loss is unhealthy.

So the obese are oppressing the skinny? First I've heard of this. Please, tell me more.

Re: Born to Rest

#47

Post by komali2 »

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.

I hear the same arguments about engineering students forced to take political science, or liberal arts students forced to take x number of laboratory credits. Arguably, health is more important that a journalist's ability to use calculus.

Re: Born to Rest

#48

Post by striking »

Jtsummers wrote: post #36
striking wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't college where people are supposed to be responsible for their own actions? Or have we extended the hand-holding that far out?

Sure, they can be responsible for their own actions. Doesn't mean the schools have to provide them the option to be actively harmful to their health. They're adults (as mentioned in another comment). If they want to buy a few cases of Coca Cola and drink that instead of water every day for 4 years, that's their prerogative. No school should stop them from making such a terrible, stupid mistake, but no school should p…

There's a little bit of cognitive dissonance going on here. If they're responsible for their actions, and they're adults, why are you taking an option away from them in fears that they're "making a mistake"? This is universally seen as hand-holding.

Re: Born to Rest

#49

Post by komali2 »

Jtsummers wrote: post #30
thesmallestcat wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

20 miles a day? Surely you aren't serious? Someone check my math but at a 7 minute mile, that's a 2 hour run every day, plus warmup, stretch, change, cleanup time. That feels absurd for anybody with a job, family, etc. Maybe every other day would make more sense.

Re: Born to Rest

#50

Post by tetrep »

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…

>...or is it just that evolution optimizes to the point of reproduction and then doesn't care about much after successfully handing down genes to the next generation?

I think this is more or less accurate. The optimization wouldn't be just for reproduction but also for the N years of rearing required before offspring are relatively self-sufficient, so reproduction + time to mature seems to be the rough target of evolution.

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