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medpundit |
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Wednesday, September 03, 2003It seems that people have been getting a lot fatter than they every did before. My theory is: in recent decades, malls have spread from outside cities to smaller population districts (eg, up here, in the Yukon, we just got Walmart.) Now, people like malls, which is why they are popular. But there is no doubt that they are built for the car, and that walking becomes less likely in this new culture. I would say that someone should look at the spread of the mall throughout the USA, rather than such aspects as rural vs urban, etc. Also, in the last generation, the car has become more accessible to more people. In the 50s and even 60s in Canada, the 2 car family was uncommon. Now, multi-car families are all over the place. And necessary: to get the kids to school (no longer do they walk to school, even a few blocks is seen as too much) - given the many cars on the road, this is realistic. To go to work. To go anywhere. Now, walking is the healthiest of human activities. When I was a child, in the 50s, I walked to church every Sunday with my grandmother. There was no thought that we should "drive" there. The distance was about 6 blocks one way. The other thing is, we don't have to carry much anymore. We wheel our purchases from the store to the car, and then there is the short walk (often from inside a garage directly into the kitchen) to the house. So, in other words, we have a very comfortable life style that discourages moving our bodies. There. If our prosperity is the main culprit in our epidemic of obesity - and most evidence suggests that it is - then our growing girth isn't necessarily a bad thing. Who wouldn't rather live fat and happy than lean and miserable? posted by Sydney on 9/03/2003 07:38:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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