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| Reactionary Steps |
| 01.13.04 (10:44 am) |
Much has been said recently about the obesity epidemic in the United States, and many an expert has taken a stab at the causes. The consensus seems to be that long work days, increased commute times, and an increase in the consumption of unhealthy meals-on-the-go are to blame. Two [i]Washington Post[/i] articles that I have read recently point to decreased physical activity as the culprit, and seem to bemoan the loss of byegone days when walking and manual labor were par for the course. While I agree with the sociological research that these authors have done, I do not agree with the shaky conclusions that they seem to draw from their work.
The first article I read [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com...]([u]A Walk on the Wild Side[/u][/url] , January 11) points out the rather obvious fact that increased suburban sprawl has led to the decline of people walking from place to place. In order to research this article, author Mary Battiata took it upon herself to walk "the commuter routes, the fastest roads from downtown to the suburbs," on a multi-day hike from downtown DC to Gilbert's Corner, a small outpost located fifty miles out on the fringes of suburbia. Battiata seems shocked at what she finds: "except for a few people at bus stops here and there, I haven't seen a soul afoot. There's no one walking." While I admire Batiatta's determination in completing this trek, I feel that she merely succeeds in pointing out the obvious: commuter routes are for cars, and as such perilous to pedestrians.
Even more remarkably, Battiata underscores her thesis by hearkening back to the good-old days: "It all seemed a very long way from the righteous path taken by metaphysicians of walking like Henry David Thoreau, who in his essay "Walking" praised going about on foot as an aid to clear thinking and good citizenship. Wasn't walking our American right, a virtue, in fact, that promoted hardy self-reliance and was as embedded in our history and character as freedom of speech? As in "Our Town," Thornton Wilder's play about life in fictional Grover's Corners, N.H., in the early 1900s, where people rely on their daily sidewalk encounters to take the measure of life itself. What were we losing, locked in our cars while the streets became ever more unwalkable?" Please, Mary, give me a break. Don't tell me that a nice Ford Expedition wouldn't have made life around Walden Pond a lot easier. As far as Grovers' Corners is concerned, I can see the H2s on Main Street now.
The second article, [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com...][u]Doing the Plow,[/u][/url] details a study by the American College of Sports Medicine in which pedometers were strapped to a group of Amish people for a week. Guess what the study found? That's right, they found that the average Amish person is "as physically active as distance runners." Let's see, could this be because they are, oh, I don't know, AMISH!? Most Amish are employed as farmers and traditionally avoid electricity and machinery, carrying on 19th century farming and domestic techniques. By default, this makes them slightly more active than an Account Executive at an advertising agency. But you knew that. I'm not sure what's more apalling, the fact that ACSM (clearly not one of the world's preeminent research colleges) chose to devote resources to this study, or that Post author Dana Scarton draws no conclusions from the results.
Both of these studies are illuminating, in their own way, but they also fail to point out the elephant in the living room: times have changed, and thus so must our habits. The 20th century gave us the car and then the interstate, and thus made it possible to have suburbs. The whimsical charm of "Main Street" began to disappear as the shopping mall replaced the street as the primary social space in American culture. The television further entrenched the suburban isolation of the American family, as it was no longer necessary to seek entertainment outside the home. Urban planners and developers responded in kind, and developed cityscapes designed with the car in mind. This, after all, is what our society wanted: a fast way to get from home to work in the comfort and isolation of the automobile.
There is no question that these developments have given rise to the obesity problem in our country. I admire and support community efforts to create pedestrian friendly spaces, and encourage people to enjoy them whenever possible. However, the car is here to stay. Gone are the days when one needed to walk everywhere, and we should not seek to bring those days back.
Cars and suburbs are not the problem, people's habits are the problem. While it may be necessary to drive many places, human beings are still born with legs and the freedom to walk on them as they wish. Freeways, cars, office parks, and strip malls are the fruits of economic progress, but they do not inhibit us from taking a walk or joining a fitness center.
We as a society must place a higher value on our own physical well being. Individuals of all ages should make a conscious effort to become more physically active in spite of the sedentary requirements of their jobs. Employers can help by adding fitness center discounts to their benefits packages, and entering company teams in local intramural sports leagues. Local governments can assist by creating designated pedestrian spaces such as hike/bike trails and jogging parks. Developers can design lucrative multi-use real estate that encourages people to live within walking distance of the workplace. Families can become closer by taking a nightly post-dinner walk. We should enjoy our cars, freeways, and suburban retreats, while making exercise an equally important part of our lives.
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