Not trying to start a Pit thread so lets try to keep it civil please.
Going through random chatrooms, out of boredom. (really) I noticed a lot, and I mean a lot of profiles which had an overweight person in it. Now I know they make probably a minority of total internet users.
They want to tax soda now, as its fattening, unhealthy.
Attacks on McDonalds for feeding the nations obesity.
A general “war on obesity” in the USA. With news stories like every other day.
Is there a chance the internet also is contributing to the obesity increases? If you’re addicted to chatting then you do not get up very often right? Is this an angle that has been pursued at all?
IMHO I do think it has something to do with the increase in weight in some people, myself included. I gained 5 pounds last year when I was an avid internet browser/poster/downloader and I lost that weight when I needed to stay off the comp due to real life problems. So at least in my case I noticed the weight gain but is it something that is more widespread?
While sitting on your butt in front of your computer is not exercise and thus does not promote overall physical fitness for your issue to be an issue you would have to assume people would be exercising if they did not have the internet. This is simply not the case. Many, if not most, of those people who sit in front of the PC might simply sit in front of the TV in the absence of their PC (or whatever…anything but exercise).
I have seen similar studies done where companies have looked into lost productivity due to things like having Solitaire on their work computers. They can generate a number describing lost work time to someone playing but then you have to consider if they were not playing solitaire would they actually work? They find that overall work time remains about steady with or without solitaire. In the absence of solitaire people go hang at the water cooler or go for a smoke break or go to the bathroom or flip through a magazine or whatever.
But wouldn’t that same argument be used against blaming soda, fast food for the problem now? Instead of soda they will drink kool-aid/chocolate milk (lots of sugar cannot be good for you right?) instead of fast food they will eat twinkies, and fry there own french fries etc.
I see your point I am just trying to wrap my head around whether it should apply to everything or just computer use.
It should apply to everything. No “one” item or behavior is a smoking gun cause of being overweight. It is a combination of many things.
Loosely speaking Americans are convenience oriented and self-indulgent. Opting for a five mile run and preparing a well balanced meal is more trouble than most people want to be bothered with.
But is computer use (overuse) contributing more then its fair share to the problem. How many exercising/active fit people participate tons of hours to online activities compared to overweight people sort of study.
Again you are assuming overweight people who spend their time online would be exercising if they did not have access to the computer. You cannot make that assumption and likely whatever else they would be doing it would probably be something sedentary which would not contribute to their physical fitness.
I watched a lot of TV but never smoked nearly as much while doing so, compared to when I smoked and sat at the computer. I ate a lot more “finger foods” aka fattening foods while plopped in front of the computer then I ever did while watching TV. I would actually get up go to fridge make a meal and go back to watching TV compared to when I was actively online wanting to get back I would grab a bag of doritos. I think there is a corrolation, more then just oh if they where not on the computer they would not exercise.
I gained 5 pounds in that time frame, now I do not do any exercising, nothing different except instead of on the comp I waste my time watching TV and playing XBox. Not gaining any weight, still at my doctors recommended weight.
I think it’s simpler than that. Fat people are just more likely to have less friends than skinny people and use the internet as an alternate source of social interaction.
aka: The internet doesnt make people fat but fat people make the internet.
That would make sense if I believed it, I have many friends and a good deal are overweight. We all go out still, and when I go out I see overweight people so most still must socially interact.
I gained weight while I was doing nothing more then using the computer like an addict, so was it just me, or is there more.
My argument is it possible the internet is creating obesity and the more I am thinking about it, I am believing it more. Yet the only thing I am finding when trying to find some facts to back it up, is about children and computer game use and obesity.
Sure you know the fat people in RL who socially interact. You don’t know the people, fat or otherwise, in RL who don’t socially interact because you never meet them.
I am not saying all overweight people go out, but I am also not saying that overweight people sit home on the internet. I just disagree with this comment you made.
Granted real life interfered but the internet did its damndest to make me overweight. And I would guess that it is more widespread than just me.
For the record, I spend an average of 2 hours a day on the internet, and an hour and a half a day exercising. So I would say some internetters like to exercise too.
2 hours is not an addicted internet user. But I would like to add, this is not all encompassing but neither is soda/fast food caused weight gain. This is just another angle I do not think has gotten much real attention.
Because many people find fat people unpleasant? Same reason why ugly people have less friends. I thought from the copious amounts of fat threads on here that this could be taken as a given.
One thing that is pretty clear to me is that nowadays there are a heck of a lot more ways of keeping yourself entertained while sitting on your ass than there were a couple of generations ago. The internet is one major one, but there are plenty of others.
Neither do I, but nor do I see soda or fast food as a single source. I think the internet adds to the problem by encouraging snack food eating etc. You see a huge amount of news on the fast food/soda obesity connection though and nothing on the internets ability to hook someone, and cause them to gain weight. Which I believe actually happens.
A average weight person gets hooked on the internet, gains weight.
A average weight person gets hooked on fast food, gains weight.
A average weight person gets hooked on drinking soda, gains weight.
The only difference is the second and third you actually put it in your body. The first makes what you put in your body, more likely to be less healthy foods.