mtnroads

Personally, I think it mostly boils down to lifestyle choices brought on by the fast pace and requisite convenience of modern life - choices we don't necessarily have to accept. Earlier generations, at least in my family, certainly didn't obsess over calories, aerobic exercise, or lifting weights, much less driving to a place to bike or exercise. Or all this fancy clothing and equipment! For the most part, they weren't overweight, and they would have thought all of that to be quite a bother, in fact my parents, now in their 80's, think it is all quite silly and obsessive.

Instead of all this commotion, they just lived a lifestyle of moderation in eating and drinking, combined with fairly regular activity, especially on weekends. There was a lot more walking for errands, and most certainly to get to school! They cleaned their own homes and did their own yardwork, they walked around the block after dinner and visited with the neighbors, the kids played outside and biked everywhere, most meals were prepared and rarely eaten out, the cars had crank-type windows, the recreation was physical but not as competitive, bikes weighed 35 lbs and had only 3 speeds... the list goes on and on.

We have come to such extremes now. Everybody is short on time. The physical tasks that my parents still do themselves every day, are for many people now done for them. Child care, housecleaning, yardwork, car repairs, even meal preparation. People work 10-12 hours/day so they can pay for all these services. The family sits at the TV or computer all night. Parents drive their kids to and from school. They DRIVE to Starbucks. They DRIVE to a gym, or to a bike path and ram their heart rate up to lactic threshold for an hour, and wonder why they hurt themselves, have massive carb cravings, blood sugar issues, whatever. Then they go out to eat.

We wonder why we have health issues and can't lose weight. It just seems so ridiclous when you put it all into perspective. My point is simply this - we don't have to accept this way of life. We can all make a change in our lives, as many on the commuting and car-free forums certainly have done. We can benefit from slowing down certain aspects of our lifestyle, expecting a little less, but enjoying it more, being more physical throughout the day, doing things in moderation, and certainly eating better is a big and enjoyable part of it!