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I wouldn't claim Americans are lazy, in contrary - you guys work way too much and rest from it too little! But if its about physical movement thats another stor

I wouldn't claim Americans are lazy, in contrary - you guys work way too much and rest from it too little! But if its about physical movement thats another story for many, as is painfully visible. I completely agree with your description, when I was in US in sort of work&travel program almost 20 years ago on university, I had such huge problems getting by walking to places in ie Hollywood or Maine (2 different universes btw also in obesity). Had to walk on the main road to cut time to work easily by 30 mins one way. I had (good) people sending me to homeless shelters since I looked so odd just trying to walk to places. The problem is - even if movement and exercise is super healthy, and the more you do the better you feel about yourself, that's not most of the obesity problem. You would have to run 2-3 marathons every day without exception to burn all the excess junkfood energy many people consume. You can be very healthy by eating well and not being sporty at all. You can't be healthy long term if you are sporty and eat tons of junk (exception may be folks doing sports on professional levels). You may look OK but ie your arteries, heart etc will tell different story.

choko 4y ago
This is very true. I track my calorie intake for this reason. There is no possible way for me to exercise enough to burn as many calories as I would like to consume. In addition, it helps me make healthier eating choices especially when "bad" food is so inexpensive and readily available.
watwut 4y ago
> You would have to run 2-3 marathons every day without exception to burn all the excess junkfood energy many people consume. But that is not how it work at all. First the moderate amount of exercise does more for your health then weight loss itself. If the consideration is health and not just aesthetic, moderate movement matters a lot. Second, it changes how your body works overall - how much energy you spend on daily activities just by existing. As you get into form, you become more active in general, simply because you feel good. It changes your apetite too. The mechanical recounting of calories does more harm then good, precisedly because it makes people conclude that exercise such as walking around does not matter- but empirically it does. > You can be very healthy by eating well and not being sporty at all. You can be healthy and fat too. And the strategy you describe is how you become thin and physically weak - in the long term that is not healthy. Not when you are at 1000 or less steps per day, effectivelly.

choko 4y ago

This is very true. I track my calorie intake for this reason. There is no possible way for me to exercise enough to burn as many calories as I would like to consume. In addition, it helps me make healthier eating choices especially when "bad" food is so inexpensive and readily available.

watwut 4y ago

> You would have to run 2-3 marathons every day without exception to burn all the excess junkfood energy many people consume. But that is not how it work at all. First the moderate amount of exercise does more for your health then weight loss itself. If the consideration is health and not just aesthetic, moderate movement matters a lot. Second, it changes how your body works overall - how much energy you spend on daily activities just by existing. As you get into form, you become more active in general, simply because you feel good. It changes your apetite too. The mechanical recounting of calories does more harm then good, precisedly because it makes people conclude that exercise such as walking around does not matter- but empirically it does. > You can be very healthy by eating well and not being sporty at all. You can be healthy and fat too. And the strategy you describe is how you become thin and physically weak - in the long term that is not healthy. Not when you are at 1000 or less steps per day, effectivelly.