Fear of exercise greater than fear of obesity in teens
By Alex HeiglDecember 16th, 2011, 6:45 pmComments (12)
I fucking hate jogging. I'm not anti-exercise — I'm a member of one of the most hated classes of people in NYC: the avid biker. But there's something about running that stopped being interesting to me after I turned sixteen. Little kids will run for no reason other than that they saw another kid running: "Where are you running to? Never mind, there's no time — just explain on the way!" But as an adult, if I see someone running, I'm more likely to wonder if Jumanji has finally happened.
Which is why I was unsurprised by this news: researchers found that signs listing the amount of jogging it would take to burn off calories from a soda dropped sales of sugary beverages by fifty percent. This, compared to signs listing the caloric content of the drinks or a sign saying a soft drink accounts for eleven percent of recommended daily calories.
Researchers targeted corner stores near middle and high schools in low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore. They noted that signs merely listing the calories in a drink seemed to have no effect, but that the signs listing the recommended daily value percentage dropped sugary drink purchases by forty percent.
Study leader Sara Bleich:
"Why is that the minutes of jogging was most effective? My personal feeling is that jogging works because it's a negative thing."
Well, yeah. Anyway, the take-away here? High-fructose corn syrup is the white man's poison, and fuck jogging.
Commentarium (12 Comments)
There's very few things, in my experience, that beat a 'runner's high'. The thing with running is, when you start from scratch your body is going to feel bad, hence it's no fun at all. Why? because running will reveal to you the true nature of the crap you've been putting in your body. That's why people with the best of intentions don't stick with it. They get fooled into believing this is simply how running feels, always. It's not. Stay consistent and that runners high will start to become available (along with legs that feel like steel).
i never got the "runner's high' I used to be in the military, running 9-15 miles a week and I never felt good about it. Ever.
3 things - (1) I've never been in the military, but I'd expect they expect you to keep a certain min. amount of body mass as muscle. As the poster below noted, running (or jogging) is not an activity made to support large amounts of body mass. Running will demand X amount of weight be dropped until the person concerned finds their happy medium, and if it isn't then I can't see how such a conflict is going to result in the running aspect feeling good. (2) With all due respect, 9-15 miles a week isn't a lot. Google daniele siess+running+depression & read the Washington Post article 'Running for my life' to get a glimpse of what it takes 1 person to routinely reach the eurphoric experience running has to offer. Her words speak louder than mine can here. Unless you're busting a baseline minimum (both in speed and, but more importantly, distance), it's simply not an experience that's going to be realised (that said, such minimums in no way mirror the kinds of distances that those who are clearly addicted to running indulge in). (3) What you eat matters. You can be fit, but if you're still eating X amount of crap then, in my experience, your body is going to let you know about it. Again I know little of military cuisine, but I'm going to guess it's designed to serve bulk muscle requirements (this goes back the body mass issue). The type of liquids one consumes naturally don't get a pass either.
"Fuck jogging" indeed; and I'm not being facetious. Jogging is a bunch of horseshit when it comes to fitness. Most people who jog constantly aren't fit or athletic…they're just really good at jogging, and have eaten away a massive amount of muscle so they appear wafer-thin (how many militant joggers do you see built like running-backs? Zero, that's how many). While some cardio is OK (instead of running, get a rower and Winklevoss your way to being fit while avoiding the whole 'high-impact' thing that makes your legs ache like a son of a bitch, while simultaneously giving yourself a total body workout), Runner's World-types tend to overdo it to the extreme and become addicted to competing in marathons, half-marathons, fun-runs [sic], triathlons, Iron man competitions, the idiocy that is Tough Mudder, and a bunch of other nonsense that gives a faux sense of fitness that a simple 15 minute cardio routine (bike, rower, elliptical, whatever) following weight training could do in an infinitely more sensible manner. The only running I do is some sprints at a high-school track…runner's high in 1/60th the time. Jogging can eat shit.
Most people seem to forget that after running 26 miles to Athens to inform the people of the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, Pheidippides COLLAPSED AND FUCKING DIED. There's a reason why mindless and tortuously boring jogging or running scares people…it's just really not that great for you, and there are many roads to fitness that are not just more pleasing, but are in fact better for you. Finding some method of play is far more preferable than hitting the pavement and, incidentally, wanting to punch yourself in the face.
I can't jog a mile without stopping, but I'm not weak. I have muscle strength, endurance and flexibility from lifting my grandfather, walking to the library, stretching in the mornings, swimming, walking up and down three flights of stairs every day, dancing, playing sports with friends, etc. Unless you don't do ANYTHING, you inevitably get some exercise. Why should I spend so much time doing something that is dull, painful and makes me feel awful? For my health? I'd rather enjoy 50 years of life than deprive myself of pleasure so that I can live to 100. There are only so many hours in a day. If I spend an hour at the gym every day, then I miss the chance to spend that time doing something enjoyable.
I'm not endorsing hedonism or killing ourselves. However, we can live balanced lives. If we eat nutritious food and sleep enough, we'll for the most part be fine.
I don't understand our obsession with exercise. We drive to the gym and then spend loads of time and money there. Instead, why don't we walk more? In third world countries women walk ten miles for water. For them, the walking is a hardship. It's interesting that for us fitness is a luxury. It's the same way with food. In India, the poor eat brown rice and unrefined sugar, which have more nutrients than the white rice and sugar that the wealthy eat. In America, only the rich have access to healthy food.
Exercise doesn't have to be a chore. We can integrate it into our lives.
Thanks for that, 123. Someone told me they lost a hundred pounds through "hard work" and that they hated going to the gym but did it an hour a day, four times a week anyway. And I think.. four hours doing something you HATE? I'd rather dance, or walk and talk with a friend, or play.. it just doesn't make sense to me.
You should be ashamed of yourself for weightlifting your grandfather. Get a gym membership, you bastard.
Golly. How about, "I don't really enjoy running and it doesn't work for me but if you like it, rock on." As opposed to, essentially, "You runners are a bunch of unhealthy idiots." I used to hate running. I am a former professional dancer, and a recreational snowboarder, soccer player, cyclist, etc. And running seemed boring. But then I took a boot camp class and fell in love with it. Not sure why, just worked for my brain and fitness level. An hour or two outdoors listening to music and getting all endorphiny makes me happy. And I haven't noticed that training for a marathon affected my weight-lifting, made me a crappy dancer, or diminished my ability to engage in hours of kinky sex. Maybe I'm doing the whole running thing wrong, Scott. BUt I think I'll keep doing it wrong until I drop dead from my terrible habits.
omg as i was telling my 18 year old brother this story he was getting a can of coke out of the fridge. right when i got to 50m of jogging = - one can he dropped that shit back in the fridge immediately lol nothing like seeing it happen live.
"Why is that the minutes of jogging was most effective? My personal feeling is that jogging works because it's a negative thing."
I disagree. I think that calories are not a unit of measure people understand well. Most people have no idea how many calories they burn a day, or how long it takes to burn a calorie. By explaining the calorie content in a way people better understand, they're able to realize the amount of sugar that is actually in a soda.
I'm sold on swimming. Love it love it.
Yes, if by swimming you mean sex, and by sex, you mean wild and crazy sex pushing your member deep into Sarah Palin's wet cleft until you explose in ogiastic glory. I'm down with it, bro.
Now you say something