# How do people get so fat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 14, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763 "2009-10-14T08:22:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 22
### Author:  [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/421 "2009-10-23T13:58:16Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> I think I’ll make up my mind early, thanks. I had no stamina when I was _thin_. It ain’t gonna happen now.
>
> And actually there’s another thing holding me back too - I don’t _want_ to run a triatholon. Or a mile. Or an inch. Even putting aside the promised years of humilation and agony, I have better things to do with my time. (And yes, most of them involve sitting on my butt.)
At first I read this and was astounded that you could reconcile, in your own mind, the fact that being lazy is a good thing. Regardless of the string of excuses you put together for the ‘whys’ you don’t exercise, the fact that exercise will keep you alive, fit and as a better asset to society, you still try and justify your laziness.
I will, however, agree with you that starting or even continuing an exercise program has gotten progressively harder in the modern era. Most people work longer hours now than ever before. When they do get a break from working, most folks don’t want to go “work” in the gym to stay fit.
This is/should be seen as a necessity to conduct yourself in an adult manner to benefit the entire society. Your (general you) obesity will continue to be a drain on society until something is done about it or until you die.
30 minutes of brisk walking is shown to significantly increase the health and happiness of ANY individual (yes even you). The 30 minutes daily can be broken down into ten minute intervals. Surely, EVERYONE has 3 ten minute intervals in their busy daily routine.
[http://www.tinajuanfitness.info/articles/art062498.html](http://www.tinajuanfitness.info/articles/art062498.html)
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/422 "2009-10-23T14:47:13Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> Care to quibble about definitions, do you? Keep in mind I can take “natural” and run with it all the way back to those prehistoric times in the 1930s when people had to burn a lot more calories just to get through the day. The _natural_ place to store excess calories is in the spare tire. The _natural_ thing is not to leave food behind. And, of course, the natural thing is to get exactly the exercise necessary to provide for yourself and not a shred more, to conserve that precious energy. Welcome to nature!
>
> Of course, portion sizes are insane nowadays. And of course it’s _prudent_ to eat three bites and chuck the rest, or take it home to microwave later. (Or, like I do, never eat out anymore.) But if you’ve convinced yourself that either of these approaches is the natural or even _normal_ approach, you’re out of touch with reality.
>
> Similarly, it’s prudent to exercise like you’re hunting mastodon. But it’s not natural, or normal, to do that without clear cause. On another point, what is natural and normal is to use the most time and energy-efficient way to get around, and nowadays that’s usually a car. I know for myself I couldn’t possibly use a bike to get around - I don’t have that kind of time to waste given the distances involved.
Nobody’s flubbing definitions here. If I’m understanding you correctly, the point of your post was that people are fatter now because lifestyles have changed. We’re not getting much exercise because we’re not outside laboring in fields all day for work, and instead are sitting in office chairs typing on keyboards, sort of like what I’m doing right now. Also, it’s natural and normal to eat the food that’s there, so when someone serves you a big ass plate of food, you eat everything on it. Weigh gain ensues.
So right, mastodon hunting or field labor isn’t normal for most people anymore, but there are certainly changes to our lifestyle that involve exercise that are perfectly normal, like riding a bicycle about town as opposed to driving. Walking and running are about as natural and normal as you’re going to get. You only have time to drive? How far away is the movie theatre, book store, market, job, or wherever it is that you go? Serious question. I do realize that some people live in rural areas where getting around on bicycles may be difficult, but for the rest of us who live in cities and suburbs, riding a bike around town is not impractical or abnormal.
Regarding this:
> [@](#):
>
> Of course, portion sizes are insane nowadays. And of course it’s prudent to eat three bites and chuck the rest, or take it home to microwave later. (Or, like I do, never eat out anymore.) But if you’ve convinced yourself that either of these approaches is the natural or even normal approach, you’re out of touch with reality.
Well I guess I’m out of touch with reality then. Most people I know do not eat out at restaurants regularly, so I suppose I’m shrouded in some enclave of people who buy groceries and cook. Yes, most people I know eat at restaurants, but they primarily eat at home, and when they do go out they don’t eat the entire meal. Putting half your meal in a to-go box is apparently so common in my enclave, that frequently the waiter will ask me once I’ve stopped eating if I’m still working on my meal, or if I would like the rest to go.
> [@](#):
>
> As for the trailing few sentences - so what, so what, and so what? The issue of what a thin, active, healthy person can get away with while maintaining their weight has little to do with what a fat, inactive, unhealthy person would have to do to **lose** weight. If I want to lose weight, I _do_ have to shun cookies and sustain myself on rice and celery. Eschewing fast food won’t cut it, however cute it is to characterize the issue as being that trivial (and that easy).
It won’t? Buying your own groceries, and preparing healthy food for yourself, as opposed to eating at Burger King, won’t work? The celery diet is what’s required in order to lose weight? Wtf?
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### Author:  [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/423 "2009-10-23T14:54:10Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#):
>
> _snip_
> It won’t? Buying your own groceries, and preparing healthy food for yourself, as opposed to eating at Burger King, won’t work? The celery diet is what’s required in order to lose weight? Wtf?
In order to be fair here, it _might_ not work. The relative ease of losing weight fluctuates so much between two different people that a one case scenario may well fail and lead him to believe that NOTHING works.
While the former may be true, the latter certainly is not.
It all comes down to desire. If he has no desire to become an asset instead of a drain (to society) and no desire to live a healthier lifestyle for his own benefit then he will get fat and die, period.
My primary concern is the drain upon public funds to live a life-stlye that has been proven detrimental.
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### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/424 "2009-10-23T16:28:21Z")
Why does a fat girl cross the street?
To go to MacDonalds.
We have learned to love fat, sugar and salt. Ice cream which is frozen sugar and fat has a heroine like grip on my wife. She can convince herself that she has to buy it when it is on sale. Then she eats it from the carton. It takes a lot of exercise to get rid of that many concentrated calories.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/425 "2009-10-23T18:30:12Z")
Wonder Woman makes your wife eat ice cream? Man, it must be a slow day in crime fighting.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/426 "2009-10-23T18:34:06Z")
I’m popular! 😃
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> What you are saying is that you are unhealthy because you are lazy.
I’ve **always** been lazy, even when I was thin. Fatness is a function of input \> output, regardless of motivation, or trivialized simplistic criticisms thereof.
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> On a personal note, I really encourage you (or anyone) to try Couch-2-5k. Anyone can do it. It only takes half an hour three times a week. And even for (relatively healthy and active) me, I started seeing results in my day to day life after just a few weeks.
On a personal note, I’ll pass.
> [@MOIDALIZE](#):
>
> I sorta see what you’re getting at, but you’ve chosen to define what behaviors are natural by whether _you_ come by them naturally. I’m sure not exercising comes naturally to you, just as smoking comes naturally to those addicted to nicotine. Speaking for myself, prolonged inactivity can make me feel lethargic and depressed. My point is that exercise does provide health benefits, which makes it worthwhile in and of itself. It’s not unnatural simply because I don’t utilize my fitness to hunt and gather food.
You did notice where I conceded that what’s ‘natural’ should probably be defined subjectively, right?
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> I see that other people have also responded to this in the interim, but I’ll go ahead and throw in my two cents as well.
>
> Prior to June of this year, I had never voluntarily run in my life. And apart from being forced to run a mile during gym class in high school (most of which I walked anyway), the longest I’d ever run was maybe down the block, chasing a toddler, and I felt like death afterward, gasping for air and light-headed. I never played sports, apart from one uninspiring season of 6th-grade softball. I have been overweight for most of my adult life. I was _completely and totally_ out of shape. If you had asked me, I would have said something similar to what you have said, about how some people “just don’t have stamina” and how some people can run, and some people just can’t, full stop, end of story.
>
> I am now running around ten miles per week, hoping soon to bump that up to 15 miles per week. I ran a 5K race in September. I am running a 5-miler in November. When I started running, I weighed 210 pounds and was obese.
>
> Humans are built for distance running. Short of having a physical disability, I think that pretty much anyone can run a mile. Maybe not right this second, but if you work up to it gradually, you can do it. If I can do it, anybody can do it. I’m no athlete.
>
> If you don’t want to, and instead choose to sit on your couch, that’s cool. I certainly don’t think that everyone needs to do the same things that I do. But don’t think that you are somehow innately different from people who can run a mile. You can run a mile too, you’re just not conditioned for it at the current time. 🙂
>
> OK, I’ll step off my “Even a fat and out-of-shape person can learn to run” soapbox now, I promise!
210 pounds is obese? Dang. If I get that low I will be _done_, basically.
Do bad knees count as a physical disability? I don’t _know_ I have them, mind you; I only know that three of my four siblings have had repeated surgeries on their knees. (I _think_ my brother didn’t, anyway.) Not being in marching band myself, I have adressed my issues with strenuous\* leg use through avoidance strategies. It’s cheaper!
(Cue people telling me that I’m imagining/lying about the bad knees to justify my sloth. 'Specially since I don’t _know_ my knees are bad. I knew I shouldn’t mention it…)
- Strenuous beging defined as “running for a few minutes” or “standing up for a few minutes”. Curiously, I can walk for considerably longer without comparable difficulty. Kind of odd, really. Doubtless people will tell me I’m hallucinating it all, regardless.
> [@rhubarbarin](#):
>
> Ditch the rice and celery, and limit yourself to under 100 grams of carbs per day (low, but not crazy) while eating a **high fat** , high protein diet. You don’t have to be hungry, or run triathlons. Don’t worry about calories. Don’t worry about exercise. Some push-ups and light weight training, if you can manage, and taking walks, would be enough. I promise you will see some weight loss within a few weeks. Keep carbs low and you could be thin, if you wanted to. Your lipid profile will improve as well. Your energy levels will be through the roof. Your skin will glow.
>
> I’ve seen it work, time and time again. It’s hard to ditch sugar and starch, but usually your taste for it decreases over time.
>
> Personally, I exceed my saturated fat allowance per day by about 300%. My blood cholesterol at last check was 154, trigs 54, LDL 71, HDL 74.
I’m dubious about this in principle (high fat is good?) but there’s a chance I’m already doing this to some small degree. (Dunno if you missed it, but I’m down 70 pounds since March. Lest I be seen as bragging, I have 80 pounds to go (estimated), I still look fat to me, and of course still have no stamina. To me this glass is half-empty). I don’t count carbs, just calories, but undoubtedly my carbs have gone down loads. And I have started snacking on beef jerky some in a kind of weak nod to the high-protien thing. (Side benefit: this keeps the snacking down as much because jerky is so insanely expensive.)
I wouldn’t know a lipid if I was introduced to it, my energy levels are normal (lowish, but then I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately), and my skin will never glow. And honesly I don’t think eating more fat will help with any of that. (My doc says my cholesterol is good, except I don’t have enough of the “good” cholesterol, apparently.)
> [@Kearsen](#):
>
> At first I read this and was astounded that you could reconcile, in your own mind, the fact that being lazy is a good thing. Regardless of the string of excuses you put together for the ‘whys’ you don’t exercise, the fact that exercise will keep you alive, fit and as a better asset to society, you still try and justify your laziness.
My laziness can be _fully_ justified by the fact I have sampled exercise and prefer other activities to it. Abandoning my other hobbies to make time for pain is a lose-lose situation, especially since I remain certain that I would not be able to do enough exercise to make it worth the while. I mean, I’ve done the ‘casual’ exercize thing, and it didn’t make a single bit of difference. Not. One. Single. Bit. Let me repeat that for the theistic exercizists. **Not. One. Single. Bit.**
(Yes, I know I just wasn’t doing it hard enough. Marathons, here we come! :rolleyes:)
> [@Kearsen](#):
>
> I will, however, agree with you that starting or even continuing an exercise program has gotten progressively harder in the modern era. Most people work longer hours now than ever before. When they do get a break from working, most folks don’t want to go “work” in the gym to stay fit.
>
> This is/should be seen as a necessity to conduct yourself in an adult manner to benefit the entire society. Your (general you) obesity will continue to be a drain on society until something is done about it or until you die.
You don’t pay me enough to waste my time at a gym, and I don’t give a crap about your self-serving notion about how society should reject fat people.
> [@Kearsen](#):
>
> 30 minutes of brisk walking is shown to significantly increase the health and happiness of ANY individual (yes even you). The 30 minutes daily can be broken down into ten minute intervals. Surely, EVERYONE has 3 ten minute intervals in their busy daily routine.
I don’t have that kind of time to waste on something that WON’T increase my health and happiness. I’ve spent months at a time (though I’m admittedly slacking at the moment) doing an hour a night, every night, on my stationary bike. _Surely_ that counts as much a half hour of “brisk” walking, and there has been no increase in health and the only increase in happiness came from the shows I was watching at the time.
People spout off about the effectiveness of trivial levels of exercise, but it’s bupkis. If it don’t hurt, it don’t work.
> [@MeanOldLady](#):
>
> Nobody’s flubbing definitions here. If I’m understanding you correctly, the point of your post was that people are fatter now because lifestyles have changed. We’re not getting much exercise because we’re not outside laboring in fields all day for work, and instead are sitting in office chairs typing on keyboards, sort of like what I’m doing right now. Also, it’s natural and normal to eat the food that’s there, so when someone serves you a big ass plate of food, you eat everything on it. Weigh gain ensues.
>
> So right, mastodon hunting or field labor isn’t normal for most people anymore, but there are certainly changes to our lifestyle that involve exercise that are perfectly normal, like riding a bicycle about town as opposed to driving. Walking and running are about as natural and normal as you’re going to get. You only have time to drive? How far away is the movie theatre, book store, market, job, or wherever it is that you go? Serious question. I do realize that some people live in rural areas where getting around on bicycles may be difficult, but for the rest of us who live in cities and suburbs, riding a bike around town is not impractical or abnormal.
Movie theatre: Four miles. Book store: online. WalMarket: five miles. Job: two miles. Other shopping: four miles.
Is is _impossible_ bike these distances? No. Impractical? Yes, obviously. Aside from the wasted time, most of my shopping trips aren’t one-baggers. Would other people bike everywhere anyway? Yes. Will they think it’s insane not to want to bike. Yes? Do I care? Not really.
> [@MeanOldLady](#):
>
> It won’t? Buying your own groceries, and preparing healthy food for yourself, as opposed to eating at Burger King, won’t work? The celery diet is what’s required in order to lose weight? Wtf?
I don’t eat out much; never have. I also don’t cook (don’t bother asking - what to me is an explanation would be excuses to you). What I do do is buy things, and eat them. And it makes a rather lot of difference whether you’re buying potato chips by the pound or little piles of celery by the ounce.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/427 "2009-10-23T21:17:34Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> 210 pounds is obese? Dang. If I get that low I will be _done_, basically.
>
> Do bad knees count as a physical disability? I don’t _know_ I have them, mind you; I only know that three of my four siblings have had repeated surgeries on their knees. (I _think_ my brother didn’t, anyway.) Not being in marching band myself, I have adressed my issues with strenuous\* leg use through avoidance strategies. It’s cheaper!
Yes, at 5’7" and 210 pounds I was obese by BMI standards. A lot of people think the BMI system is flawed, of course. I didn’t really think of myself as “obese,” personally, but I was really, really uncomfortable being at that weight, both psychologically and physically. I was having a lot of back pain problems that have cleared up now that I’ve lost about 20 pounds.
I don’t really know (or, frankly, care) if your bad knees “count” as a physical disability. It sounds like you’re trying to get an excuse not to go to gym class. Well, I’m not your gym teacher and nobody is going to make you go to gym class. Or run a mile. So as far as I’m concerned, the only reason you need to not run is, “I don’t want to.” You’re an adult and can make your own decisions. I was responding solely to your assertion that some people have a natural lack of cardio endurance and that some people just can’t run a mile, which I believe to be false, excepting physical disability.
FTR, recent studies have shown that running actually seems to have a protective effect on your knees. I am sharing this only to provide information and not to convince you personally to start running, so you don’t need to defend yourself with a bunch of reasons why this does not apply to you.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/428 "2009-10-23T21:38:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Yes, at 5’7" and 210 pounds I was obese by BMI standards. A lot of people think the BMI system is flawed, of course. I didn’t really think of myself as “obese,” personally, but I was really, really uncomfortable being at that weight, both psychologically and physically. I was having a lot of back pain problems that have cleared up now that I’ve lost about 20 pounds.
Okay, fair enough. This sort of thing is pretty subjective. Myself I’ve never felt any different as a result of my weight either way, even when I was a skinny teen.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> I don’t really know (or, frankly, care) if your bad knees “count” as a physical disability. It sounds like you’re trying to get an excuse not to go to gym class.
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> Cue people telling me that I’m imagining/lying about the bad knees to justify my sloth.
😃 I am prescient!
I only mentioned it because it seemed directly relevent to the discussion - but fine, believe what you want. I’m actually an adonis who is physically capable of lifting buicks with my pinky finger, and am only _pretending_ to have had a lifelong experience of physical incapability unaffected (either way) by my weight or exercise level. And I’m only pretending this to prevent people on the internet from making me do things. Yes, that’s exactly it.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Well, I’m not your gym teacher and nobody is going to make you go to gym class. Or run a mile. So as far as I’m concerned, the only reason you need to not run is, “I don’t want to.” You’re an adult and can make your own decisions. I was responding solely to your assertion that some people have a natural lack of cardio endurance and that some people just can’t run a mile, which I believe to be false, excepting physical disability.
I am certain that some people have a natural lack of cardio endurance and can’t just run a mile - if it wasn’t the case then by definition nobody would lack cardio endurance and everyone would be able to run a mile! The degree to which these problems are _correctible_ through prolonged and possibly severe physical labor may be up for debate, but the idea that everybody is an olympian or even an olympian waiting to happen if they’d just do a couple pushups, is nonsensical at best.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> FTR, recent studies have shown that running actually seems to have a protective effect on your knees. I am sharing this only to provide information and not to convince you personally to start running, so you don’t need to defend yourself with a bunch of reasons why this does not apply to you.
I don’t believe for an instant that running will help my knees. But then again, I’m not laboring under the assumption that they are merely in need of some muscle tautening or whatever.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/429 "2009-10-23T21:47:26Z")
I wasn’t suggesting that you were making up the bad knees, just questioning your need to mention them in the first place. You don’t need to justify your lack of exercise to me or anyone else, so I am wondering why you are still here doing so.
As for the rest, I didn’t say that everyone is an Olympian waiting to happen. That would be a very stupid thing for me to say. I said that anyone can run a mile if they put their mind to it, and I stand by that assertion. I think I was very clear in one of my earlier posts that I don’t mean that you could rise up off the couch this very second and run a mile. But there is nothing special about your body that makes you incapable of learning to run a mile. Trust me, it doesn’t take herculean effort, you don’t have to be an Olympian in training, it’s not something superhuman that only a select few can do, blah blah blah. It’s a mile. Anyone can do it. Hell, I’ll go on to say that probably most people could run _two_ miles, but let’s not go crazy.
If I were you, I’d examine my reasons for needing to assert that a relatively low level of physical activity is akin to winning an Olympic medal.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/430 "2009-10-23T21:54:15Z")
Oh, and by the way, have you ever actually biked two miles? Depending on how long it takes you to park your car at your destination, it might actually be quicker than driving. It really doesn’t take that long. You have some weird ideas about physical activity.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/431 "2009-10-23T22:21:07Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> I wasn’t suggesting that you were making up the bad knees, just questioning your need to mention them in the first place. You don’t need to justify your lack of exercise to me or anyone else, so I am wondering why you are still here doing so.
I waffled over mentioning them, because I knew some yahoo would think I was making excuses. However, when dealing with a person who is confidently asserting that anyone “short of having a physical disability” can run, and “But don’t think that you are somehow innately different from people who can run a mile. You can run a mile too, you’re just not conditioned for it at the current time.”, I felt it was relevent to the discussion that I very might be in the category of people that _you_ consider exceptions to your optomistic rule.
As for why I’m still here, I came in here to argue a point about pejorative word misuse, which nobody wants to discuss much. I’m not sure why I’m still here; it probably has more to do with responding to slander than some moral high imperative - though I _do_ believe I’m fighting false statements here.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> As for the rest, I didn’t say that everyone is an Olympian waiting to happen. That would be a very stupid thing for me to say. I said that anyone can run a mile if they put their mind to it, and I stand by that assertion. I think I was very clear in one of my earlier posts that I don’t mean that you could rise up off the couch this very second and run a mile. But there is nothing special about your body that makes you incapable of learning to run a mile. Trust me, it doesn’t take herculean effort, you don’t have to be an Olympian in training, it’s not something superhuman that only a select few can do, blah blah blah. It’s a mile. Anyone can do it. Hell, I’ll go on to say that probably most people could run _two_ miles, but let’s not go crazy.
I don’t trust you in this. Persons always think that everyone can do what they can do - it’s easy! Ignore the physical disabilities, they’re just an excuse.
I will note that my being unable to run a mile has nothing at all to do with my weight; I was quite demonstrably unable to run a mile as a teenager in that PE class you think I’m still in. Curiously enough, I didn’t drive at the time; I rode a bike to get around. (Never more than a mile and a half, though; usually less. My world was small when I was a kid.) Biking was no problem. Running killed me.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> If I were you, I’d examine my reasons for needing to assert that a relatively low level of physical activity is akin to winning an Olympic medal.
Given that I didn’t assert that, I don’t have any reasons to examine. I _did_ assert that _you_ seem to have the confused belief that people do not differ in the level of physical capability that they are capable of developing - if we weren’t such lazy slugs, that is.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Oh, and by the way, have you ever actually biked two miles? Depending on how long it takes you to park your car at your destination, it might actually be quicker than driving. It really doesn’t take that long. You have some weird ideas about physical activity.
I don’t bike to work because 1) I don’t want to risk getting my work clothes dirty 2) I want to sleep in as late as possible (parking takes no time at my work, so no time savings there), and 3) I don’t own a bike (and don’t want to make space for one in my apartment). I don’t bike to stores because I often have five bags of stuff to haul back - and you’re talking a six or eight mile round trip. (Also, no bike.)
But you don’t care about the reality, do you? Such considerations are “weird ideas”.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/432 "2009-10-23T22:39:43Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> I don’t bike to work because 1) I don’t want to risk getting my work clothes dirty 2) I want to sleep in as late as possible (parking takes no time at my work, so no time savings there), and 3) I don’t own a bike (and don’t want to make space for one in my apartment). I don’t bike to stores because I often have five bags of stuff to haul back - and you’re talking a six or eight mile round trip. (Also, no bike.)
>
> But you don’t care about the reality, do you? Such considerations are “weird ideas”.
No, the weird idea is that 2 miles is an “impractical” distance to bike. You just gave plenty of fine reasons not to bike to work. And as I hope I have been clear, “I just don’t want to” is a fine reason not to bike to work. But you offered up the impractical distance of 2 miles as an example of why biking to work would not work for you. Uh, OK? 2 miles really isn’t that far, especially on a bike.
Also, you did equate running a mile with Olympian effort. You said, in response to my statement that everyone could run a mile:
> [@begbert](#):
>
> The degree to which these problems are correctible through prolonged and possibly severe physical labor may be up for debate, but the idea that everybody is an olympian or even an olympian waiting to happen if they’d just do a couple pushups, is nonsensical at best.
Running a mile /= olympian.
Btw, I couldn’t run a mile as a teenager, either. I was a pretty sedentary teen, apart from marching band, and asking my body to suddenly run a mile for one gym class was just not happening. I rebelled and walked just because I wanted to piss off my gym teacher, but even if I’d given it a good try I doubt I could have run the whole mile. When I did decide, earlier this year, that I wanted to be able to run, I worked up to it gradually and slowly.
Anyway, I’m not quite sure how I got sucked into an argument about why you can’t run a mile. I certainly don’t think that running is for everybody. You could probably run a mile if you worked up to it, but maybe you would still hate it and find it difficult and spend the whole time wishing you were doing something else. I really don’t have a problem with this. I think it’s important for people that want to get to fit to find something that they enjoy doing, and running ain’t it for a lot of people. No big woo.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/433 "2009-10-23T23:37:37Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> No, the weird idea is that 2 miles is an “impractical” distance to bike. You just gave plenty of fine reasons not to bike to work. And as I hope I have been clear, “I just don’t want to” is a fine reason not to bike to work. But you offered up the impractical distance of 2 miles as an example of why biking to work would not work for you. Uh, OK? 2 miles really isn’t that far, especially on a bike.
If you’re not in a hurry and not carrying cargo and don’t care about braving the elements, then two miles isn’t far on a bike. (On foot is another story - depite your implication here that it isn’t.) Of course, this scenariou doesn’t have any relation to _my_ life; ergo biking is an impractical option for me.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Also, you did equate running a mile with Olympian effort. You said, in response to my statement that everyone could run a mile:
>
> Running a mile /= olympian.
Read for comprehension.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Btw, I couldn’t run a mile as a teenager, either. I was a pretty sedentary teen, apart from marching band, and asking my body to suddenly run a mile for one gym class was just not happening. I rebelled and walked just because I wanted to piss off my gym teacher, but even if I’d given it a good try I doubt I could have run the whole mile. When I did decide, earlier this year, that I wanted to be able to run, I worked up to it gradually and slowly.
I, on the other hand, _did_ try to run the mile when asked. It killed me. I’d run a distance, then be forced to drop to a plod, much slower than walking, as my body attempted to recover. Then, having recovered somewhat, I’d try again - going a shorter distance until I ground to a near halt. This happened over and over, but I never quite gave up and just walked it - though it would probably have been faster. It took me 25 minutes to “run” the whole mile - I’m not kidding; they timed it. (In retrospect it’s a little surprising they didn’t stop me early. So I now fully expect you to believe that this is all a lie.)
Of course, this little jog wasn’t just out of the blue - we’d have to do laps around the gym every morning. I was obviously not in the lead, but the distance was short enough not to push me past the first breaking point. But you will ignore this and pretend that the run was out of the blue because the fact that the ran was not preceded by a couple months of PE classes contradicts your little belief that with a few week’s brief practice all physical hurdles will vanish.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Anyway, I’m not quite sure how I got sucked into an argument about why you can’t run a mile. I certainly don’t think that running is for everybody. You could probably run a mile if you worked up to it, but maybe you would still hate it and find it difficult and spend the whole time wishing you were doing something else. I really don’t have a problem with this. I think it’s important for people that want to get to fit to find something that they enjoy doing, and running ain’t it for a lot of people. No big woo.
I think you got sucked into this because you declared that everybody can run a mile (or could, with a little bit of working up to it) and I called you on your bullshit.
Regardless, even if I wanted to get fit, clearly running isn’t the way I’d go about doing it. Not walking either, because walking alone is a titanic waste of time - you can’t even hardly do anything else while you’re doing it. No way. Me, when I get inclined to exercise, I use my stationary bike. As best I can tell it doesn’t actually improve my health at **all** , (though people with religious beliefs about the benefits of health care will call me a liar here), but at least I can watch TV at the same time, so it’s not a _complete_ waste.
Of course, it’s hard to get motivated to do this, because it doesn’t work and I’m not really motivated to get fit anyway, at least not _that_ way. I mean, what’s the benefit? Being able to run for the sake of running? Meh. Now, I do want to lose _weight_, but that’s different; it’s so the diabetes won’t get me. I don’t care if I can’t run, but I _do_ care if it’s because my legs have been amputated.
---
### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/434 "2009-10-23T23:52:34Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> Of course, this little jog wasn’t just out of the blue - we’d have to do laps around the gym every morning. I was obviously not in the lead, but the distance was short enough not to push me past the first breaking point. But you will ignore this and pretend that the run was out of the blue because the fact that the ran was not preceded by a couple months of PE classes contradicts your little belief that with a few week’s brief practice all physical hurdles will vanish.
>
> I think you got sucked into this because you declared that everybody can run a mile (or could, with a little bit of working up to it) and I called you on your bullshit.
Where did I say that a few weeks’ brief practice would “vanish all physical hurdles”? I said, and maintain, that anyone who doesn’t have a physical disability can learn to run a mile. I didn’t say it wouldn’t take significant work and effort. I didn’t say it would take a few days, or a few weeks. Call it bullshit if you want. You keep accusing me of calling you a liar, and I don’t know why, because I have no reason to doubt anything you’ve said about your personal experiences. I just disagree with you on this small point. You are getting incredibly defensive about this and perceiving me as personally attacking you, so I’m just going to drop it.
Good luck with your weight loss.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/435 "2009-10-24T00:01:36Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Oh, and by the way, have you ever actually biked two miles? Depending on how long it takes you to park your car at your destination, it might actually be quicker than driving. It really doesn’t take that long. You have some weird ideas about physical activity.
This one astonished me when I went to the gym most recently. I had made about .3 miles – pathetic distance – in walking for a few minutes, but my back was hurting brutally and I’d started the workout nauseated. I went to a recumbent bike and went seven miles barely thinking about it.
---
### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/436 "2009-10-24T00:02:42Z")
I think the part where you said I was just making excuses to get out of PE suggested to me that you were doubting my integrity.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Good luck with your weight loss.
Thanks. Here’s hoping it’s not just a waste of time…
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/437 "2009-10-24T01:10:33Z")
I can’t believe I’m continuing to engage with this, but when we had to run that mile for the President’s Fitness Test (god, never in my life have I hated a politician as much as when that came around) in ninth grade, my gym teacher had to stay into his lunch break _because it took me 40 minutes_ because I started out trying to run it. Not because I was fat - I probably weighed 90 pounds. Because I was sedentary.
Last year when I started running as an adult, I worked up to it and _wanted to do it_, and I did it. It isn’t easy - if it was easy everybody would do it, duh. When you did your exercise biking, did you work hard or did you just make the wheels go around and around? Because there isn’t much to making the wheels go around - if you tried riding a bike you’d find that it’s a shockingly efficient mode of transportation, if you don’t have to go up a hill. You burn surprisingly few calories for the distance, just because it’s such a smart little machine.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/438 "2009-10-24T02:15:02Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> I think the part where you said I was just making excuses to get out of PE suggested to me that you were doubting my integrity.
I know I said I was dropping this, but I want to clarify here because you misinterpreted what I meant, and I really didn’t mean it the way you are taking it. My comment about your sounding like you wanted a note from the gym teacher wasn’t my way of saying, “You’re making up your knee injury.” It was my way of saying that it sounded like you were wanting someone to tell you that it was OK not to exercise, i.e. asking for a pass from gym class. My point was just that you don’t need anyone else’s permission for that. If you don’t want to exercise… well, don’t. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/439 "2009-10-24T02:28:28Z")
**begbert2** – what about swimming?
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### Author:  [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/440 "2009-10-24T05:28:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> **begbert2** – what about swimming?
Well, first of all **bergbet2** does not see any benefit from exercise. He tried it once for a few minutes and it didn’t work. Plus, exercise is a waste of time unless he is watching TV–then it is a useless uncomfortable experience with the benefit of using his time more wisely–by watching TV. There is no TV in the bottom of pools.
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