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Obesity/lack of exercise problem is still a poverty problem. Exercise is costly in time, and, therefore, money. As a sort of self-performed experiment, I've e

Obesity/lack of exercise problem is still a poverty problem. Exercise is costly in time, and, therefore, money. As a sort of self-performed experiment, I've exercised regularly for the last 2 years, on average of 3.5 times a week (every other day). This required 1.25 hrs for the workout itself, another .25 hrs for the added commute, $60 for the gym membership per month, an increase in calorie consumption to compensate of about 30%, hence additional food costs of around $100/month. That's a total of 273 hours in a year in opportunity cost and $1920 in various expenses. Assuming a semi-skilled wage of $15/hr, that's $4095 + $1920 ~ $6000 opportunity cost per year to exercise and stay healthy. $6000 is a make or break amount of money for poor people. I can afford it relatively easily, considering how much health benefits I receive from it, but living paycheck to paycheck, most of them likely can't.

humanrebar 10y ago
...you can also factor in the time value of money since the goal, at least in this conversation, is to increase lifespan and health decades in the future.
- VLM 10y ago
  And in a hyper-youth centered culture, "I'll have a lot of fun when I'm 25" counts for a lot more than "I'll be dead at 75" Assuming exercise isn't fun. Physical therapy is supposed to be a brutally painful and exhausting way to repair damage that you'll feel better about in the distant future. Exercise should be fun. If you're not having fun, with fun people, you're probably doing it wrong.
  - antisthenes 9y ago
    Fun was not accounted for because of different preference curves for different people. There are people who genuinely don't enjoy exercise, despite no indication that they would somehow not benefit from the effects.
johnbrodie 10y ago
Your example is just one way of exercising, though. There's no getting around it requiring some time, but you can likely do a decent bodyweight-style workout without a gym membership, without a commute, using only implements you can find in your community. Some space to jog, do pushups, something you can hang from to do pullups, etc. People have been training themselves to have fairly large amounts of muscle and endurance in jail, in 3rd world countries, and plenty of other places besides expensive gyms.

humanrebar 10y ago

...you can also factor in the time value of money since the goal, at least in this conversation, is to increase lifespan and health decades in the future.

VLM 10y ago
And in a hyper-youth centered culture, "I'll have a lot of fun when I'm 25" counts for a lot more than "I'll be dead at 75" Assuming exercise isn't fun. Physical therapy is supposed to be a brutally painful and exhausting way to repair damage that you'll feel better about in the distant future. Exercise should be fun. If you're not having fun, with fun people, you're probably doing it wrong.
- antisthenes 9y ago
  Fun was not accounted for because of different preference curves for different people. There are people who genuinely don't enjoy exercise, despite no indication that they would somehow not benefit from the effects.

johnbrodie 10y ago

Your example is just one way of exercising, though. There's no getting around it requiring some time, but you can likely do a decent bodyweight-style workout without a gym membership, without a commute, using only implements you can find in your community. Some space to jog, do pushups, something you can hang from to do pullups, etc. People have been training themselves to have fairly large amounts of muscle and endurance in jail, in 3rd world countries, and plenty of other places besides expensive gyms.