# Is rawdogging it bad for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579 "2024-09-01T20:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/1 "2024-09-01T20:11:14Z")
Some “health experts” are claiming that sitting doing nothing for a few hours is bad for your health, but it doesn’t seem that outrageous a practice to me. Some people simply call that “meditating”, or “Saturday”. > **[The ‘Rawdogging’ Flights Trend, Explained](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanyanas/2024/08/26/the-rawdogging-flights-trend-explained/)** > > 'Rawdogging' a flight was the unexpected travel trend that emerged this summer. Distraction-free flying can be good for mindfulness, health experts have some concerns. What? What else did you think I was asking about? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/2 "2024-09-01T20:13:06Z")
> The trend is referred to as “rawdogging” a flight and it basically means foregoing any of the in-flight perks—no in-flight entertainment, no snacks or beverages from the carts rolling through the aisles, and, in the most extreme cases, no drinking water or napping. > > Like many trends, it’s playing out on TikTok That tells me enough to be disinterested right there. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/3 "2024-09-01T20:15:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > What? What else did you think I was asking about? ‘Rawdogging it’ used to mean having sex with a risky partner without the protection of a condom. > **[Urban Dictionary: Rawdogging](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rawdogging)** > > While it's originally used to describe having sex without protection, it can be used as slang for doing anything TO something, without something else that that something would require, such as some form of preparation, protection, or anything to make... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/4 "2024-09-01T20:18:57Z")
I don’t like flying. I need to be distracted ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/5 "2024-09-01T20:19:13Z")
> [@](#): > > The trend is referred to as “rawdogging” a flight and it basically means foregoing any of the in-flight perks—no in-flight entertainment, no snacks or beverages from the carts rolling through the aisles, and, in the most extreme cases, no drinking water or napping. So, this? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bSsb9B1163k/maxresdefault.jpg "Puddy Staring on Plane") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSsb9B1163k) ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/6 "2024-09-01T20:30:00Z")
Somehow travel is different. I don’t sit around that much, but I was injured last fall and had to. My feet ONLY swell up with extended travel. I don’t know if it’s the immobility, salty food or what. I travelled to BC last winter for skiing and had so much edema I put on 12 pounds of water weight. They weigh you now to get in the helicopter, and I was like “Dear god, I need to go on a diet!” Got home, swelling went down, weighed my normal weight (still need to diet, though). ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/7 "2024-09-01T20:35:38Z")
Sitting for long periods (like 8 - 10 hours) comes with a small but real risk of developing blood clots, which can be life threatening It’s s really good idea to get up and walk around if possible every few hours. And staying hydrated is also a good idea, especially considering that the cabin air is quite dry ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/8 "2024-09-01T20:51:34Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > ‘Rawdogging it’ used to mean having sex with a risky partner without the protection of a condom. And (I suspect) that’s what he wanted you to think this thread was going to be about, so that you could then be embarrassed when you found out it wasn’t a sexual reference. Neener neener on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/9 "2024-09-01T21:11:27Z")
Same. My first cross-country flight it took 2 days for my ankles to go down. Now I always wear compression socks. Now, if we’re going on a cruise, that only does so much, as I gain a bunch of water weight from the food. I was up 7-8 pounds this last time. Came off in a couple of days, fortunately. Ughhh… ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/10 "2024-09-01T22:12:40Z")
While familiar with the term in a sexual context or re: using an unprotected browser (i.e., “rawdogging the internet” and thus experiencing all the ads, getting all the malware, and getting blocked by newspaper paywalls like someone who discovered the internet yesterday.) I first heard the term re: flights as “rawdogging reality” on a flight. Some people have terrifying thoughts they’d rather not be left with unfiltered. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/11 "2024-09-01T22:35:41Z")
And here I thought this thread was going to be about eating uncooked hot dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/12 "2024-09-01T22:37:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Some “health experts” are claiming that sitting doing nothing for a few hours is bad for your health, but it doesn’t seem that outrageous a practice to me. Some people simply call that “meditating”, or “Saturday”. > > [The ‘Rawdogging’ Flights Trend, Explained](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanyanas/2024/08/26/the-rawdogging-flights-trend-explained/) It’s not “sitting and doing nothing”, it’s specifically remaining motionless on a long flight. For most people, that means sitting in economy class, where remaining in your set means you can’t move around much at all and you’re stuck breathing dry, rarified air (cabin pressure during cruise is like being on the ground at an elevation of 8000 feet). And yes, it comes with risks: > **[Deep vein thrombosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_vein_thrombosis)** > > Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis.\[a\] A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enlarged veins in the affected area, but some DVTs have no symptoms. > The most common life-threatening concern with DVT is the potential for a clot to embolize (detach from the veins), travel as an embolus through the right side of the heart, and become l... I’ll stay seated for a whole 3-hour flight to Colorado, though I might make it a point to move my legs around every 10-15 minutes, specifically contracting my calves, thighs, and buttocks to try to get stagnant blood moving. For a 13-hour flight to Tokyo, I deliberately drink water so that I have to get up and go to the bathroom every hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/13 "2024-09-01T22:43:03Z")
Being immobile for long times is obviously not healthy for you, but I don’t think that’s what “rawdogging air travel” is really about. Personally, this is the way I usually fly. I absolutely can’t sleep in a normal airline seat. Unless I’m starving, I don’t like to take any meal or snack where I have to lower the tray, because then I’m trapped in the seat until the attendant returns to clear the tray. Books and other distractions are rendered useless by all the jostling and announcements. If there’s a video selection, it’s usually things I’ve already seen, and the video search screen is too terrible to find anything new. So what I do generally is sort of sit there and zone out. My mind doesn’t wander far because of the noise and distractions. I’ll stand, stretch, and walk around occasionally to avoid cramps and pain, but otherwise I just sit there. My seatmates probably think I’m insane, but there’s really not much else I can do. Anyway, that’s what the phrase evokes for me, just doing air travel the only way I can manage, sitting there like a dog in a crate staring at the back of my seat. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/14 "2024-09-01T22:51:06Z")
> [@susan](#): > > That tells me enough to be disinterested right there. Do you mean ‘uninterested’? I notice this usage of ‘disinterested’ a lot on the SDMB. I guess I’m curious if ‘disinterested’ has changed meaning to many Dopers. If it has then–well, what can you do? But I feel I’m at a loss in determining which word I should use when I mean ‘uninterested.’ It’s a bit like the usage of ‘literally’ but not as far along the “new definition” path yet. I suppose I could start using whatever term the Dope decides on but right now it’s not clear. Shall we collectively choose a definition for ‘disinterested’? Just wondering. Oh… and this rawdogging seems a bit nutty to me if it means going without water for a long flight. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/15 "2024-09-01T22:59:36Z")
I suppose @susan was going for something close to “anti-interested”. Being “uninterested” in something is to be merely neutral about it. English lacks a good word for “that idea or source is so awful I’m actively avoiding permitting it to occupy my consciousness.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/16 "2024-09-01T23:16:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > English lacks a good word for “that idea or source is so awful I’m actively avoiding permitting it to occupy my consciousness.” Squick. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/17 "2024-09-01T23:33:49Z")
In general, I’d say that being bored and being able to be bored are both very good things that have some benefits. I’m not sure that I’d recommend that concept to be attached to the phrase “rawdogging it”, though. And yeah, you can move around and drink water while still being able to step back and think about life. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/18 "2024-09-01T23:36:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Squick. Nope. Or at least not quite right. Squick is just a modern slang word for disgust. IMO it needs to be a variant of “interested” to carry the tone I’m aiming for. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/19 "2024-09-02T00:57:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I suppose @susan was going for something close to “anti-interested”. Being “uninterested” in something is to be merely neutral about it. I was taught that **“disinterested”** , rather than **“uninterested”** means being neutral about something. But then again, _“Those definitions, they are a chaaaang-ing”_ (with apologies to Mr. Dylan). ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579/20 "2024-09-02T01:00:23Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Oh… and this rawdogging seems a bit nutty to me if it means going without water for a long flight. I used to be tremendously ill every time I flew, resigned to losing at least a day of every vacation. I finally realized that purposely dehydrating myself in order to avoid using an airplane toilet was a really really stupid idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rawdogging-it-bad-for-you/1006579.md?page=2)