Commuting - industrialized culture

what does all the pollution and traveling by car say about our culture. if you look at foreign coutries such as japan by the way you will see alot more either bike or walk. no wonder america is the fattest most out of shape lazy country in the world. we do it to ourselves. we jump into our gas guzzlers every noon time every day and engorge ourselves on fatty foods and gripe about gas prices. well its time we jump onto our ol freind the bicycle and pedal our freedom back from obesity and high maintenace cost of the stupid turdmobile.

1. You're preaching to the choir. We all bike to work when possible.

2. You don't win friends or arguments by insulting people. I'm an American, and I'm not fat, lazy, or stupid. I don't apologize for being an American either, (with exeption to the direction of our g'ment). Today I ate at whole foods and spent 25 minutes working on my shoulders, upper back, and abs. (See #1 I guess).

3. Plenty of other countries have crummy diets. We're fortunate to have a choice.

Sounds like the informationalized culture to me. During the industrial age people actually did physical things. They had the strength to pull their pants above their waist, got up to change the TV channel and even tied their own shoes. Not so today. I think we need to stop bad mouthing the industrial age and focus on the informational age. They are a bunch of ******* who are afraid to answer their own phones.

American obesity has 3 causes: fast food, driving, and portion size.

In Europe, their food is a greasy and fattening as ours. Moreover, fresh vegetables are not as easily found as here. What you don't find is a McDonalds or a Burger King on every street corner. Yes, most European countries have fast food, but you have to go out of your way to find it.

Americans drive more than anyone anywhere. And driving is a laregely sedentary activity that raises stress levels which causes people to eat more.

And finally, there's portion size. A "full Irish breakfast" is packed with as much, if not more, greasy goodness as a Denny's Grand Slam. The difference is that the portions are smaller. In France, once I ordered a steak. It was delicious because I think it was fried in butter. But it was also the standard USDA recommonded size of "one portion" of meat or about the size of a deck of cards.

Amen Brother! Preach it! I am in total agreement with you... but, I draw the line some where else compared to others that are against "industrial culture" or "Consumerism"... there is a real political absolutism over here about these things. Being against consumerism is like protesting the sun that rises... we live, we consume, we poop. It is how we consume that is the important thing. Industry and information society has given us resources and abilities that would be considered magic only a few generations ago. It is how we use our ability and resources that is important. Large SUVs and McMansions are a perversion of this. Biking is one of my choices, even though getting to work by car might be easier.

Amen !!!

There's a day care center on the ground floor of my office, and as I walked in to the gym this morning from the bike rack, I watched a woman struggling to get her fat 1-yr old kid out of his car seat. He'd apparently had a blanket over him for the ride in, which she shook out in the pkg lot. Out came about 2 handfuls of Cheetos, Chex Mix, etc. I really hope that was a few weeks worth and not that kid's morning snack.

My kids sure as hell aren't going to be eating sht like that at that age...

1. You're preaching to the choir. We all bike to work when possible.


+1 My thoughts exactly.

Industrialism led to overproduction.
The Information Revolution allowed capitalists with surplus goods to induce the desire to overconsume.

We're really just reaping what we've sown.

Well, I live in Tokyo and I'll tell you most people can't afford to own a car. They would like one but can't have it. The gas, parking, and tolls are too much. Most people don't think about cycling like us commuters do. For them it's far more utilitarian. Going from home to the 7-11 or post office. That being said, living in a big city like Tokyo makes it easier to walk and bike so people tend to stay somewhat fit. Everythings closer. More than the American diet, I think it's the urbran sprawl and low gas prices that are killing us.

And the best part about the information age is that someone born now could expect to see millions and millions of ads before death. That's awesome, and is very healthy for our econ... I mean cult of consumption.

Az

Am I the only with a headache from reading the OP? An even larger casualty than the average American's health is the ability to cohesively write down a thought with proper grammar and punctuation. :p
Not that I am one to speak....I mean write. :p
j/k BTW :)

Seriously, the OP is preaching to the choir. From time to time I buy into the 2 cars for every 1 person idea. Then I look at gas prices and my diminishing waist line and reverse direction. Instead my family has 1 car for 3 people. Denver's mass transit helps this out as well.

Am I alone in thinking Population Density is a big cause of America's weight problem? Biking to work is a lot easier in a big city where you live a lot closer to where you work. America and its cities do not grow up, they grow out. I live in Dallas proper now, but previously I lived in a wayout suburb. With the exception of local stores, if I wanted to go anywhere it was at least a 15 to 30 minute drive. I took public transport to my job downtown(Which I live so much closer to now) and it was still at 20 minute drive to the nearest rail station. Were that I lived in a city such as New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco where it is more viable for people to not need a car, I'm sure the people there are in better shape, but is it the populace's fault thatwe have so much land that it's cheaper simply to move out than move up?

Another factor with America's need to drive could be the price of gas, but that is something that I see changing, shortly. With gas being relatively cheap for a really, really long time (As compared to our European counterparts) we could afford easily, on almost any income, to drive anywhere. With the price of gas going up, more and more people will be taking public transport, and possibly alternative modes of personal transportation (Bikes, yay) This is partially my situation, I am going to start commuting to work as soon as I can afford a bike to save money on gas and get in shape. I feel that many people will therefore move closer to work and save money on the commute to live closer to work, exactly as I have.

My commute has gone from an hour and fifteen minutes, sometimes hour and thirty with traffic, to maybe twenty minutes. I'm sure as soon as I start commuting to work on a bike it will go up, but not by too terribly much. Sure there are ups and downs with living in the big city, but for me the ups way outweigh the downs, and I'm happy.

no wonder america is the fattest most out of shape lazy country in the world. we do it to ourselves.

Actually Nauru has us beat by a long shot.

Actually Nauru has us beat by a long shot.

Oooh I had to do a Wikipedia to see who the Nauru are... 90% overweight and 40% type II diabetes, at least they are more litterate than we are...97%

They also completely trashed their tiny island nation over the past few decades reaping the temporary rewards of the phosphate mines. My sarcastic point was that greedy self absorbed cultures exist in all corners of the world, not just American suburbia.

I live downtown, my family has one car. I walk and bike most local errands and eat right. But it's easier said than done for a big family to just pick up and live downtown. In the cities mentioned (Boston, NY, SF), home prices are astronomical, even small townhomes. And schools are a concern for parents.

Plus,some families DO see three cars, two boats, a plasma TV and 45k in debt as success. You can't change those who don't want to be changed..

but is it the populace's fault thatwe have so much land that it's cheaper simply to move out than move up?


Yes, it is the population's fault. WE developed and embraced free market capitalism, a doctrine by which decisions are made based almost solely on monetary profitability as opposed to long term sustainability or based on what is good stewardship of natural resources, not to mention capitalism generally throws morality completely out the window.

yep , preaching to the choir.

The cause is many little things that add up to a big mess.

1) sprawl, post WWII the government encouraged and promoted spread out communities to prevent mass casualties during a nuke strike, and the new middle class could afford cars and Uncle Sam wanted every one to have one@!!! GAS was also dirt cheap USA oil.

2) No good public transportation from the burbs, and gas was cheap and uncle sam wanted us to all buy cars

3) food, too much junk available and fast food, I was 314 lb 4 years ago due to the Office Diet lots of fast food and more suger (the real enemy) more suger than you can shake a stick at (bagels, doughnuts, chips, ramen noodels ....

4) Nintendo etc, 200 cable channels, computers.... kids and adults stay inside forever and sit sit sit. FINGERS/wrists GET A GOOD WORKOUT

Geez Me and my brother/sister werent allowed in the house when we were kids other than meal or homework /bed time. when thirsty other than meal time that was what water was for , we were not filled with gallons of soda or apple juice. heck we created more ways to play baseball Than carters have liver pills sort of thing.

5) with the population having gotten larger, more housing developments are farther from the cities with no way to get anywhere except by car (detroit AND OIL COMPANIES keeps keep the economy rolling )I dont see the problem being solved any time soon.

6) ON a Good note there is a slight trend towards new housing developments that are built around a city style envioroment IE adjacent parks and shopping , convinence stores ... within walking /BIKE distance of the development even though a major city or town is many miles away.

Im sure there are more problems but these are a few I Know of

"John"

This sort of political ranting is better suited to the carfree forum.

Am I the only with a headache from reading the OP? An even larger casualty than the average American's health is the ability to cohesively write down a thought with proper grammar and punctuation. :p
Not that I am one to speak....I mean write. :p
j/k BTW :)

Seriously, the OP is preaching to the choir. From time to time I buy into the 2 cars for every 1 person idea. Then I look at gas prices and my diminishing waist line and reverse direction. Instead my family has 1 car for 3 people. Denver's mass transit helps this out as well.

My family has 2 cars for 3 people (then again, one of those people is under the age of 5). I really only drive my car 3-4 times each week and we usually use it for trips up to see my In-Laws maybe once a month at best (about 160 miles round trip). I'd be surprised if I put 5,000 miles on my car this year.

The OP might do better to post his rant on a forum dedicated to cagers and their beloved cages than on a cycling board in the commuting forum.

This sort of political ranting is better suited to the carfree forum.
Probably even better suited for a soapbox in the park preaching to the winos too drunk to object to the gross sterotyping and generalizations.

3) food, too much junk available and fast food, I was 314 lb 4 years ago due to the Office Diet lots of fast food and more suger (the real enemy) more suger than you can shake a stick at (bagels, doughnuts, chips, ramen noodels ....

4) Nintendo etc, 200 cable channels, computers.... kids and adults stay inside forever and sit sit sit. FINGERS/wrists GET A GOOD WORKOUT



That's the fault of the parents and individual. I'm surrounded by Krispy Kremes every morning and manage to limit my intake to 1/4 of one.

I think it's great that restaurants serve slices of cake the size of a fax machine, because my co-workers and I can all share one, or I can take some home.

The problem isn't the availability, it's the discipline.

Probably even better suited for a soapbox in the park preaching to the winos too drunk to object to the gross sterotyping and generalizations.

Look who's talking...

That's the fault of the parents and individual. I'm surrounded by Krispy Kremes every morning and manage to limit my intake to 1/4 of one.

I think it's great that restaurants serve slices of cake the size of a fax machine, because my co-workers and I can all share one, or I can take some home.

The problem isn't the availability, it's the discipline.


I stand somwhat corrected! YES I agree!!! Both your points are very valid.

just seems with increased variety and availibility consumption is due to be higher.

but yes disipline/resposability is lacking in many areas and that is a bigger problem than availibility.

"John"

4)[B] Nintendo etc

Actually... it's funny you mention Nintendo. It's the most "healthy" videogame out there. I just got a Wii and let me tell you: Fighting 10 opponents in Wii boxing is physically exhausting!

If my kid was a fat ass, I'd give him a Wii instead of a PS3 or Xbox. We could work off a few pounds. Obviously playing real world sports is better, but the Wii is still the healthiest of all the game consoles on the market. So while you can't really stop kids from playing video games, perhaps you can make them play the ones which are better for their health overall.

. we do it to ourselves. we jump into our gas guzzlers every noon time every day and engorge ourselves on fatty foods and gripe about gas prices.

Speak for yourself.

Speak for yourself.

Hey, stop speaking for me.

Well you did. There's just too much guilt in the informtional age. I think I'll become a Jesuit instead.

we do it to ourselves.
Don't group me (or any of us on the Commuter Forum) in with that "we".


we jump into our gas guzzlers every noon time every day and engorge ourselves on fatty foods and gripe about gas prices.
Most of us bring our lunch from home, or chose to eat at healthier restaurants. If we do go out for fast food, it's not very often and due to the mileage we put in, we're allowed to have a Big Mac once in a while.


well its time we jump onto our ol freind the bicycle and pedal our freedom back from obesity and high maintenace cost of the stupid turdmobile.
I like my stupid turdmobile. (I think I may rename my Jeep, I'm so taken with this new moniker.)

Yes, it is the population's fault. WE developed and embraced free market capitalism, a doctrine by which decisions are made based almost solely on monetary profitability as opposed to long term sustainability or based on what is good stewardship of natural resources, not to mention capitalism generally throws morality completely out the window.

I hate to call out people who I somewhat see eye to eye with (at least on the subject of liking urban areas) but are you seriously saying a free market is not the best way to handle an economy, and that it could be better handled by big government involvment and artificially low supply of natural resources?

To stop the de-rail, television and video entertainment probably is doing a good bit to contribute to obesity, especially juvenille obesity. The problem with that however is poor parenting. In college I worked retail at a video game store, in the center of everyplace suburbia. The irresponsibility of parents with regards to their children's health is appalling (And don't get me started about discipline).

Also - I more or less gave up fast food a month ago along with all fatty and greasy foods and soda and holy crap it has had a profound effect on my life. I feel better in almost every way possible. Sure I may occasionally get something like Chipotle Tacos, but now even the thought of tossing back a big mac makes my stomach ache, and it's awesome.

Also - I more or less gave up fast food a month ago along with all fatty and greasy foods and soda and holy crap it has had a profound effect on my life. I feel better in almost every way possible. Sure I may occasionally get something like Chipotle Tacos, but now even the thought of tossing back a big mac makes my stomach ache, and it's awesome.

I pretty much gave up fast food when I moved out of Cincinnati up to Seattle. The main reason behind giving up fast food is because there's no White Castles in Washington. Call me crazy, but I really miss being able to grab a 4 pack of sliders at 3am after a long, horrible day at work.

Regardless of type of system-- Capitalist, Socialist, Communist--the population of every prosperous country is getting fatter. It is like humans are programmed to be lazy, fatty food eaters. I know of no country in the world, whose leaders would not quickly sacrifice some portion of the population, just to make more money or get a bit more power, or “security” for the wealthy or political leaders.

So why do the poor jump into the game? Why go out and by a $30K car? Why eat nasty fast food, every day? Why work for someone that requires you to give up your health just to work for them? Once the ball is rolling and the extra pounds are on, it is very difficult to break the cycle.

It is not the culture that is to blame it is humans themselves who choose to pay for and shovel the crap into their own mouths. It feels good to eat, just like a drug, or sex. Our bodies’ crave that feeling. Our troubles are far away when are mouths are full. When we race around in our cars it is easy to forget all of our problems and just feel the power of acceleration. But in the end we do pay, dearly.