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The Crisis in American Walking

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Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#101

Post by snowwrestler »

backprojection wrote: post #66

"Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health." Association != causation. While the picture this caption is from is indeed ridiculous (grandmother driving her daughter…

I think you probably don't have a good sense of just how much energy walking and other continuous small movements burn. There have several studies that showed that even different amounts of fidgeting can result in significant differences in energy usage, which correlated closely with levels of obesity.

"Overweight people have a tendency to sit, while lean ones have trouble holding still and spend two hours more a day on their feet, pacing around and fidgeting, researchers are reporting in findings published today.

"The difference translates into about 350 calories a day, enough to produce a weight loss of 30 to 40 pounds in one year without trips to the gym - if only heavy people could act more restless, like thin ones."

....

"The director of the study, Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist and nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic, said the findings offered hope to overweight people, suggesting that relatively simple and painless changes in their daily behavior, like making an effort to walk more and ride less, could help control weight."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/28/health/28weight.html

I picked this one because it's the NY Times and Science, but there are numerous other sources available via Google.

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#102

Post by InvisibleCities »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #35
misterbwong wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree that most people walking would be generally better than not, I don't quite follow your reasoning. According to this paper [1], mean comfortable walking speed for a male in his twenties is 253.3 cm/s (~5.67 mph). Assuming you are male and in your twenties, this means it takes you ~39 mins to work each way, not including stopping at intersections, etc. Contrast this to ~15 mins each way in a car. This mea…

> this means it takes you ~39 mins to work each way I'm not sure about your speed calculations - average adult walking speed is generally understood to be around 5-6 km/h (3-3.75 mph). I'm a male in my late 30s and I generally walk at a relatively brisk 7-8 km/h (4.3-5 mph). As it happens, my walk home is about twice as long as my walk to work, since I pick up my son from school along the way. My walk to work takes a…

>...my daily commute is a 6 km (3.7 mile) round trip by foot...I'm a male in my late 30s and I generally walk at a relatively brisk 7-8 km/h (4.3-5 mph)...My walk to work takes about 20 minutes...

Does not compute. A trip of 3.7 miles at a speed of 5 miles per hour would take ~45 minutes. If you can actually walk your 6 km commute in 20 minutes, you should quit your job and start competing in Olympic race walking, since you are apparently outpacing the reigning world champion [1].

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racewalking#20_km

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#103

Post by yummyfajitas »

backprojection wrote: post #66

"Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health." Association != causation. While the picture this caption is from is indeed ridiculous (grandmother driving her daughter…

...the implication seems to be that Americans walking less somehow has a causative effect in skyrocketing obesity rates. This seems entirely wimpy and facile.

The fact that exercise causes weight loss has been borne out by numerous controlled experiments. Something I found via a quick search: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.duke.car...

Also, Taubes' insulin nonsense has been debunked. Lets move on.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-h...

As for your hypothetical environmental cause, it must be extremely selective. For example, consider mixed income American neighborhoods (e.g., Harlem, Jersey City). This alleged environmental cause seems to primarily affect the lower income people. How does that happen? Are the yuppies with gym memberships and hipsters with their organic vegan raw paleo diets somehow immune?

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#104

Post by gregPC »

I live in Scotch Plains NJ, I can count the streets on one hand that have sidewalks. after 3pm, when school lets out, I hate walking, mothers in vans on the phone, teenagers and all that distracts them, it's an accident waiting to happen. I walk early, or late, and late I get followed by the popo. I love to walk, just not where I live.

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#105

Post by backprojection »

snowwrestler wrote: post #101
backprojection wrote: post #66

"Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health." Association != causation. While the picture this caption is from is indeed ridiculous (grandmother driving her daughter…

I think you probably don't have a good sense of just how much energy walking and other continuous small movements burn. There have several studies that showed that even different amounts of fidgeting can result in significant differences in energy usage, which correlated closely with levels of obesity. "Overweight people have a tendency to sit, while lean ones have trouble holding still and spend two hours more a day…

"Overweight people have a tendency to sit, while lean ones have trouble holding still and spend two hours more a day on their feet, pacing around and fidgeting, researchers are reporting in findings published today."

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Most of us eat plentifully. If your metabolism is up to shape, you'll spend the extra calories fidgeting. That's what a lean person is. In this paradigm, a fat person is one who partitions off calories towards fat, regardless of physical activity. He then has to match expenditure to what's left.

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#106

Post by joshtynjala »

hjhjhj wrote: post #93
noonespecial wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried to take a walk in the suburban neighborhood where my parents live and was brought home in a police car . The neighbors called the police and reported someone suspicious walking through the neighborhood. Apparently, its just not done. I didn't have any ID on me so I was brought home in the cruiser so I could present my "papers" to the officer. Its a terrible thing to think but I distinctly remember being grate…

I've been living in more car centric semi-rural area for the last two years and I have been stopped by the police 7 times. I had a job where I walked to work .7 miles and people would ask me almost every day if I need a ride home. Someone told me that the few remaining buses in the town should be eliminated because they only service the scum and losers of society. I've had 4 cars attempt to hit me on my bicycle becau…

As someone who grew up in a semi-rural area in the Midwest, I know I would feel like I were in danger riding a bike on the street instead of a sidewalk. I've been living in more urban areas in California for many years now, and bike lanes are everywhere, but honestly, I don't think I'd want to try to use them. Attempting to hit you is ridiculously stupid, but I think the feeling that bicycle riders should be on the sidewalk is probably pretty common outside of urban areas, especially in regions where snow and ice are an issue for half the year and biking is less common.

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#107

Post by [deleted] »

angersock wrote: post #83
excuse-me wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got pulled over by the police for walking in Houston Running alongside the freeway is an access road where all the on-off ramps feed. It has a wide sidewalk along the side and it was only a couple of junctions between the hotel and the site I was visiting so I walked. A police car immediately pulled up to ask where I was going and why? Fortunately the English accent convinced them I was obviously merely some pinko-…

HPD generally gives no fucks, sorry about that. :( Maybe it was one of the little townships that still refuses to integrate into the ever-expanding maw of Houston (think West U area)?

[deleted]

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#108

Post by DanBC »

snowwrestler wrote: post #101
backprojection wrote: post #66

"Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health." Association != causation. While the picture this caption is from is indeed ridiculous (grandmother driving her daughter…

I think you probably don't have a good sense of just how much energy walking and other continuous small movements burn. There have several studies that showed that even different amounts of fidgeting can result in significant differences in energy usage, which correlated closely with levels of obesity. "Overweight people have a tendency to sit, while lean ones have trouble holding still and spend two hours more a day…

Yes.

A number of studies have shown that overweight people can make a difference just by walking around their home a bit more, and doing things in a more active way. For example, instead of sitting down to watch TV they could stand and do some ironing while watching tv. And then, when standing and ironing they can bounce a bit. Many of these seemingly trivial actions build into more exercise and better weight loss.

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#109

Post by backprojection »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #103
backprojection wrote: post #66

"Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health." Association != causation. While the picture this caption is from is indeed ridiculous (grandmother driving her daughter…

...the implication seems to be that Americans walking less somehow has a causative effect in skyrocketing obesity rates. This seems entirely wimpy and facile. The fact that exercise causes weight loss has been borne out by numerous controlled experiments. Something I found via a quick search: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.duke.car... Also, Taubes' insulin nonsense has been debunked. Lets move on…

> Are the yuppies with gym memberships and hipsters with their organic vegan raw paleo diets somehow immune?

Well, yes. As a paleo dieter, I can tell you I can't be eating more sugar than someone from the 1850s. My guess is that anyone conscious enough to be on a raw-vegan diet, doesn't either.

> This alleged environmental cause seems to primarily affect the lower income people.

My understanding is that refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils are cheap. Who was it that said that if you have $1.5 to spend on food, you're better off (calorically) buying potato chips than broccoli.

> Also, Taubes' insulin nonsense has been debunked. Lets move on.

I do suspect that it's simplistic. It's much better than the popular notion of calories-in/calories-out, though. That's why I said that it's controversial, but that it's the kind of thing, that's more on-the-mark than simply blaming sedentarity as a primary cause in obesity.

> The fact that exercise causes weight loss has been borne out by numerous controlled experiments. Something I found via a quick search: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.duke.car....

OTOH, exercise makes you hungry. What's more interesting is whether exercise is effective long-term to cure obesity. I'd suspect not alone, but that it certainly helps.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00....

Re: The Crisis in American Walking

#110

Post by DanBC »

Goronmon wrote: post #81
dhimes wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. The organized sports for kids is insane in its breadth and depth. We used to play one, maybe two sports. Now normal kids are playing something most seasons. Not only are they playing, but they are going to special coaching sessions, camps, and so on. This is much more prevalent today than when I was a kid. We had football practice twice a week (at 12 yo) with a game on Saturday. She got a ride to the end of…

She got a ride to the end of the driveway? Probably because she has a double-header soccer match that night. Someone athletic enough to play in a double-header soccer match wouldn't bat an eye at walking 100 feet down a driveway. As someone who played many sports in my earlier years, this line of reasoning seems completely off the mark.

I see people who drive to the gym. They park their cars as close as possible to the gym door. This is not in poor weather.

(not making any comment about the article.)

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