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People think of the 250lb and 1000 steps in the context of one meal, or maybe a 6 month diet. But 250lb is not added in one meal, or over 6 months. It usually

People think of the 250lb and 1000 steps in the context of one meal, or maybe a 6 month diet. But 250lb is not added in one meal, or over 6 months. It usually takes a couple of decades. Let's say that's 10,0000 days. Because I'm Australian and like round numbers and am lazy (these numbers are all very rounded), call 250lb 100kg. 1,0000 steps a day consumes about 20 kiljoule. If those kilojoules come from eating fat, you either add 1/2 a gram of fat or walk those 1,000 steps. I know, 1/2 a gram, 0.02oz - almost insignificant, right? Now multiply it by 10,000 and see that over those decades it contributed 50kg of the 100kg we are talking about. For the same reason exercise doesn't make a lot off difference to a 6 month or even 2 year diet. But when you are trying to explain to difference between trim Koreans and 250lb Americans those extra 3,000 steps a day explain the entire difference, then some.

khazhoux 2y ago
I think you're doing bad math. My point is that a shitty, low-cost middle-American diet greatly exceeds the caloric burn of walking, across any time window you choose. I mean, it's obviously better to walk than to not, but I'm claiming the dominant factor is sugar-bomb drinks and fatty foods (which isn't at all a novel claim anyway). Walking only barely chips away at that.
- rowanG077 2y ago
  Why is the math bad? It seems to check out what he is saying and matches approximately the numbers I can find on online.
- ruszki 2y ago
  Using public transport (aka walking) means to me to burn 500-1000 additional calories per day compared to using cars the whole day. That’s not insignificant at all. Of course, you need to live somewhere where this is a possibility.
- numpad0 2y ago
  My gut fully agree with this. American junk foods had gone way too far wrt paperclip maximization.
- notfromhere 2y ago
  If you’re moving around and walking, you don’t get as hungry. Outside of a handful of cities in the us, most of the country is basically designed to limit walking

khazhoux 2y ago

I think you're doing bad math. My point is that a shitty, low-cost middle-American diet greatly exceeds the caloric burn of walking, across any time window you choose. I mean, it's obviously better to walk than to not, but I'm claiming the dominant factor is sugar-bomb drinks and fatty foods (which isn't at all a novel claim anyway). Walking only barely chips away at that.

rowanG077 2y ago
Why is the math bad? It seems to check out what he is saying and matches approximately the numbers I can find on online.
ruszki 2y ago
Using public transport (aka walking) means to me to burn 500-1000 additional calories per day compared to using cars the whole day. That’s not insignificant at all. Of course, you need to live somewhere where this is a possibility.
numpad0 2y ago
My gut fully agree with this. American junk foods had gone way too far wrt paperclip maximization.
notfromhere 2y ago
If you’re moving around and walking, you don’t get as hungry. Outside of a handful of cities in the us, most of the country is basically designed to limit walking