[ Originally Posted by clintjm View Post
2. If the one thing we have the most control over in our lives is personal health, why should the Japanese or US government play a role in measuring waists and setting standards of the correct sized body and then rewarding or punishing accordingly? Who is government to decide how think one should be? ]
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Originally Posted by MMM
2. That's a very libertarian attitude, but it is like saying "Since we decide if we are going to have sex, why should there be sex education in schools?"
The reason is that education gives ammunition to making informed decisions. I am not saying education will stop kids from drinking pop all day, just as sex education doesn't stop teens from having sex, but on an individual basis educated people make better decisions than uneducated ones.
3. No, we are not the product of our occupation, unless we work 16+ hours a day. Just a few minutes a day of physical activity can have remarkably positive effects on our bodies. Again, you are falling into the "I am not in control of my body" thought. I know people who bicycle to work (I did when I lived in Japan), who jog on their lunch breaks, work out after work... Your occupation does not determine how healthy you are. You do.
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What happened to your response to item #1?
2. I said "why should the Japanese or US government play a role in measuring waists and setting standards of the correct sized body and then rewarding or punishing accordingly? Who is government to decide how think one should be?"
That isn't libertarian. Also don't compare this to sex education in schools. Thats apples and oranges.
And I'm not anti-health ed either so I don't know where that came from. I don't think the government should be involved in #1 measuring waists and then b. rewarding entities based on the results.
3. Well an occupation in general is more than 16+ hours a day, and that is the occupations I'm referring to, so then I guess we agree that that one's occupation plays a role.
So a person that is on his feet all day and has a physically demanding job versus the person confined to a desk all day is not a product of occupation? If your occupation only allows a 30 min lunch vs a 1 hour lunch is your diet and mental endurance going to suffer? Does the office one work in have a place just to walk and not by a highway? Does the office/occupation allow for walk breaks? Is the employee stationary all day for hours on end?
If you are working high hour demanding week with a 1 hour driving commute one way. Your physical activity is going to suffer, not to mention your diet. In the average urban sprawl areas of America, you do not walk anywhere. Its from building to car to building.
Now the average salary man in Japan definitely has this life style too, but diet options (even outside of the home) are better
and the amount of physical commuting is definitely more. Not to mention Japanese have much more vacation than the average American counter part. Overworking definitely takes its toll on the worker as does like of vacation and rest.
Commuting options are limited to the location of your home and place of business (not just the distance but also the physical location). Your are not going to be biking or walking in say many parts of the US simply because it is not an option - it just simply is not. Not being biker or pedestrian friendly in the least... its down right dangerous and not an option. Buses and trains are simply not an option either in many places as well and where they are, most are not even close to a flexible schedule.
This is not to say that there are places where people could have a healthier commute or lifestyle and chose not to, but you surely can not say that for everyone.
There is also the relationship between food and stress. Occupational stress.