If it weren't for gypsies, the 100+ uncontacted tribes left and passionate travellers in this world, I would've lost hope.
Thank you TripAdvisor, and thank you Couchsurfing!!
It is estimated that 30% of American adults are inactive, meaning they walk less than 30 minutes/day. The problem doesn't end here, children are also very affected by our 'modern lifestyle'. Parents have replaced "Go outside and play" with "Go watch TV". TV?!! With the amount of sugars kids are fed, the last thing they should be doing is sit there and watch TV! Kids are meant to play, run and come back to bed exhausted! With the amount of sugar they ingest (white bread, sweets, candy, fried foods, soda, etc) they develop hyperactivity, they can't sit still - yet parents would rather have them sitting 'calmly' watching... OK enough complaining.
Here are some facts:
"Researchers found that the least active, essentially those who sit all day, had a:
147-per-cent increased risk of heart attack or stroke;
112-per-cent increase in the risk of developing diabetes;
90-per-cent greater risk of dying from a cardiac event;
49-per-cent greater risk of premature mortality."
This is not okay. It's not okay to just SIT, when you have gardens, lakes, rivers, beaches, farms, mountains, hills...
It's ironic how people became more sedentary after the invention of mechanical transportation! Well maybe it's not ironic, given that we just SIT on airplanes. Imagine a gym plane - fun! Imagine you had to pedal to keep the plane flying, that would be awesome.
The study I quoted earlier also mentioned the following:
It’s important too to recognize what activity means. It’s about moving. You don’t have to run a marathon every day to derive health benefits.
Ideally, you should be moderately active – the equivalent of a brisk walk – 30 to 60 minutes a day, every day.
Very few people are meeting that minimal standard. According to Statistics Canada, only 15 per cent of adults and 7 per cent of children meet the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines every day. Those are the most active people in modern society, and they’re not that active.
Exercising like a maniac for an hour a day isn’t going to offset 23 hours of being sedentary. But breaking up your sitting with activity, even very light activity, can have a significant impact."
It seems like third world/developing countries have it better: they can't afford to be sedentary! Manual labour requires energy and so does walking to the nearest well (sure it must suck to have to walk to get potable water, but hey at least you're walking). But I guess even here in Egypt, where people are somewhat lazy, you see that strong contrast among social classes: the rich that sit in their offices or homes all day, and their housekeepers that don't sit for a second. The construction manager that spends most of his time in his air-conditioned office, and the poor workers that lay bricks and put their lives at risk at least 10 hours a day...you get the picture.
"Manual tasks in the home have also largely disappeared. We vacuum instead of sweep; we have dishwashers instead of washing dishes by hand; we have tractors to cut the lawn. And so on.
Almost all our transport is now by car. Fewer than 10 per cent of people walk or take public transport to work. The same is true of kids – 90 per cent are transported to school; they don’t walk or bike."
I stopped taking the elevator (unless I'm carrying something heavy, or I'm really tired). I used to go up 10 floors at my previous job, and it was the best part of my day. Elevators are such a waste of energy for the Earth, and exactly the opposite for us.
I hope this inspires you, cause it's the only thing that keeps me going :) Check these out!!
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