Randomosity FITNESS Music Step Safety

August 2004

General Fitness & Health

This section contains reality-based rants and other helpful or amusing fitness considerations.

WARNING: Intended for mature audiences. Some material in this article may not be suitable for young audiences or polite society.

IF AMERICANS WEREN'T SO FAT: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Life

Before you start getting defensive, let me explain. This article could have been titled, "If Americans were Healthier..." but that certainly wouldn't have gotten your attention so quickly, now would it?

It’s a nationwide crisis that we have a habitual OVEREATING problem. At the same time we do not exercise regularly. This invariably leads to overweight and unfit bodies. We can do better. We are not lazy. Get up, doing something about it!

Eating food and enjoying it is not a sin. But we all know the American health problems run deeper than a few extra cookies here and there. We are talking death, disease, malnutrition, and worse. We eat like gluttons. We don't tune in to our bodies. This interferes with our well being and decays our quality of life. In combination with not exercising, overeating is killing us.

Make a habit of EATING TO LIVE instead of LIVING TO EAT.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.

IF AMERICANS WERE HEALTHIER:

Families would have more cash on hand. The cost of meat can put quite a dent in the monthly budget. And fast food? Soda? Candy? Alcohol? Can you deny that over-consumption is a sign of wealth? And self-destruction.

Speaking of destruction and expensive meat - precious, irreplaceable rain forests in South America would NOT be cleared to graze cattle for our artery clogging plates of beef. (I am not a vegetarian, by the way. I occasionally enjoy a hearty serving of meat). Less cattle belching also would mean less methane gas in our ozone.

What would families do with the extra cash? Maybe see a show, explore culture. Get involved with cultural and community activities. Buy the kid music lessons. Get a dog. Go on vacation. Be able to afford health insurance.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.

IF AMERICANS WERE HEALTHIER:

Aside from the extra cash in every household, what about the extra time? Time not spent shopping, cooking, eating in front of the TV.

We could probably each take up at least one new hobby if we just lift our heads from the troth. So we would probably be more talented, active, fulfilled and well rounded (mentally) people. And maybe take walks together.

The entertainment industry would get quite a boost. If people avoid food as a social excuse to get together, what would we do?

Not, "Let's do lunch," but, "Let's walk to the park and catch the free live music they have every afternoon."

No dinner dates, but instead: a walk through the arts district, a hike in the lush mountains, a film festival.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.

IF AMERICANS WERE HEALTHIER:

If we exercised regularly, we would be a whole lot healthier. If Americans ate reasonably and exercised regularly, we wouldn't be so fat.

More exercise means frequent "natural transportation" like walking and biking, thereby reducing the unbelievably huge amount of poison we release into the air with our car exhaust.

More exercise would mean healthier muscles, including the heart, healthier lungs, joints, and bones, a fine tuning of the nervous system, and best of all -self awareness.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.

IF AMERICANS WERE HEALTHIER:

Healthier individuals means less expense for disease treatment.

Health care maintenance and prevention is a drop in the bucket compared to the burdensome costs of treatment.

Consider this: a walk in the park with an extra buck or two in your pocket from reduced food cost every day: or, one heart attack, a ride to the hospital in an ambulance, emergency room fees, aftercare, therapy, stress on the family, lost productivity.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.

This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.