38
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Article from 1999, referenced study likely from earlier.

The average American walks less than 75 miles a year - about 1.4 miles a week, barely 350 yards a day.

Thank you to @[email protected] for pointing this out.

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240218142310/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/bryson-s-america-why-would-you-walk-1079183.html

top 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

These numbers seem way too low, 1.4 miles a week??? Even in 2024 where we have more means of transport than ever, I still walk more than that every day!

[-] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Are you joking? That seems ridiculously low to me. That's barely 300 metres per day. I walk more than that just pacing around my apartment on a typical day. I actually can't even envision what a life with so little walking would look like.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

No, I just wrote the wrong word because I'm going on way too little sleep this weekend. I should've said low.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Ah, makes sense! I was worried for your well-being for a second there :P Hope you get some rest soon!

[-] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

lol, thanks me too

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I have failed to find the mentioned study.

I can believe an elderly person barely moving, and perhaps there are a number of them?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, aside from riding my bike, I would hardly call myself active but I sure as hell walk waaaay more than that. Even if I was above average (doubtful), these numbers seem off, especially for back then. With all sorts of delivery and micromobility devices these days, I figure we're walking even less than we did in the 90s but still more than 1.4 miles per week (you could easily walk that without even leaving a building)

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

One third of Americans are obese and one third overweight. Riding a bike occasionally is easily above average.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I can see why you might connect the two, but I weigh 240 lbs and bike commute every day as long as it isn't freezing. Overweight and obese people ride bikes all the time.

Being sedentary is only part of the reason we're so fat: Can't out exercise a bad diet and we are barraged with highly processed foods to the point that you can accidentally eat a lot of processed stuff even when you're trying to eat healthy.

Oh, also, beer but I quit drinking so that should help lol

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Fair on the weight!

Still, I have to say that bike commuting regularly is definitely above average. Maybe you’re not living in the most representative area?

I have family that certainly only walk a few hundred meters a day.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I'd be surprised if I wasn't: Most things are within about a 25 minute walk for me, much less on a bike. Still though, I feel like that study's numbers were off.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not the mentioned study, but still interesting.

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2010/10000/pedometer_measured_physical_activity_and_health.4.aspx

Adults reported taking an average of 5117 steps per day. Male gender, younger age, higher education level, single marital status, and lower body mass index were all positively associated with steps per day. Steps per day were positively related to other self-reported measures of physical activity and negatively related to self-reported measures on physical inactivity. Living environment (urban, suburban, or rural) and eating habits were not associated with steps per day.

Important to note that study participants may not be reflective of the average American.

Edit: 1 miles is apparently near 2,000 steps. (From another article which credited "researchers".)

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

The typical American walks only to and from their garage. Georg, who lives in a cave and walks 10,000 miles a day, is an outlier and should not have been counted.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

So 416 mph, not bad. That good olde made-up paleo diet, right?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

The link is broken. It tries to save the page instead of showing an already saved version.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Ah, you are right. Thank you.

Edit: Fixed archive link.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago
[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago
this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
38 points (89.6% liked)

Fuck Cars

9505 readers
17 users here now

This community exists as a sister community/copycat community to the r/fuckcars subreddit.

This community exists for the following reasons:

You can find the Matrix chat room for this community here.

Rules

  1. Be nice to each other. Being aggressive or inflammatory towards other users will get you banned. Name calling or obvious trolling falls under that. Hate cars, hate the system, but not people. While some drivers definitely deserve some hate, most of them didn't choose car-centric life out of free will.

  2. No bigotry or hate. Racism, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, chauvinism, fat-shaming, body-shaming, stigmatization of people experiencing homeless or substance users, etc. are not tolerated. Don't use slurs. You can laugh at someone's fragile masculinity without associating it with their body. The correlation between car-culture and body weight is not an excuse for fat-shaming.

  3. Stay on-topic. Submissions should be on-topic to the externalities of car culture in urban development and communities globally. Posting about alternatives to cars and car culture is fine. Don't post literal car fucking.

  4. No traffic violence. Do not post depictions of traffic violence. NSFW or NSFL posts are not allowed. Gawking at crashes is not allowed. Be respectful to people who are a victim of traffic violence or otherwise traumatized by it. News articles about crashes and statistics about traffic violence are allowed. Glorifying traffic violence will get you banned.

  5. No reposts. Before sharing, check if your post isn't a repost. Reposts that add something new are fine. Reposts that are sharing content from somewhere else are fine too.

  6. No misinformation. Masks and vaccines save lives during a pandemic, climate change is real and anthropogenic - and denial of these and other established facts will get you banned. False or highly speculative titles will get your post deleted.

  7. No harassment. Posts that (may) cause harassment, dogpiling or brigading, intentionally or not, will be removed. Please do not post screenshots containing uncensored usernames. Actual harassment, dogpiling or brigading is a bannable offence.

Please report posts and comments that violate our rules.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS