What an improbable combination, cycling and obesity, which is precisely why I think it is worth a mention here.
OK, let’s start by declaring an interest. I am not obese by a fairly decent margin but I am overweight, which is partly why I started cycling again a few weeks ago. So today I have been looking at various related topics on the web and have come across some startling figures.
Apparently, half of the UK’s adult population are overweight and one person in every six of the adult population is obese, that is, at least two to three stones overweight and risking serious health consequences.
If that is not bad enough, according to NHS Direct, at least one in ten of our seven-year-old children, and one in six of our 15-year-olds are clinically obese – which means that they have been set up for a lifetime of serious health problems even before they have finished being children.
Yes, there are medical causes of obesity but these account for only one in every 100 sufferers. For 99 out of every 100 it was all so avoidable. I could mutter on about lifestyles and diets and the qualities of various foods but for now let’s keep it simple. The primary cause of the problem for that 99% is that they have been consuming far more calories than their bodies were needing, and their bodies simply stored all those spare calories.
There are no quick fixes for these people and they would be well advised not to seek quick results. But whether obese or merely overweight there is a solution, and it is obvious: Eat less and exercise more, and I can think of no other form of exercise that is as safe and enjoyable and useful as cycling.
I occasionally see a few larger girls cycling around here, and I gotta say I have nuff respect for them – I don’t know why they ride, whether it’s anything to do with wanting to lose weight, but who cares. Cyclists are rare around here… it’s good to see people of all shapes and sizes on bikes, not just the skinny whippets.
One day this country will be like Amsterdam, mark my words.
I think obesity is solved to much extent if we follow and practice physical activities is our daily life. IF these is followed as we did it in child hood then obesity will be a word of past
Obesity is a huge problem (very punny, I know), and cycling is such a simple way to help gain control over it. I am an (obese) American woman who wanted to get back to cycling but was appalled to find out that nobody made bikes for heavy people. I decided to change that, and created an ecommerce store, http://www.SuperSizedCycles.com.
What I’ve learned is that big people DO want to ride bikes, and they are grateful for a company that actually understands that they’re not mentally incompetent, just big.
In an effort to eliminate the stigma of “fat” or “obese” or any of the other negatively-charged words that are associated with big people, I’ve invented a new word: “Zize.” Defined as “Size with Attitude.” We can help spur the biking movement for the obese by thinking of them positively, greeting them on the cycling paths with a smile, and in general, remembering that we’re all living this human condition together! Peace.
Thanks for all your comments.
Now, Joan, first let me say that I was not “having a go at obese people so much as trying to emphasise that cycling may provide a solution – of which many people may not be aware. It is a pity that “obese” is one of those negatively-charged words. Most of the people who are obese are living normal lives and harming no-one but themselves. Besides it can equally apply to very fit people with a lot of muscle, so that their weight is sufficiently out of proportion to their height by “normal” standards to make them technically obese – and I am not about to pick an argument with them!
A delayed response–better late than never? I actually thought your post was great, and didn’t feel like you were “having a go” at us zize people. I usually can’t bear to respond to most blog posts, because they are so narrow-minded. I like what you wrote–a lot! It’s what’s true, and your attitude is not one of “ohmygod, these people are monsters!”
Keep up the good work, and keep riding!
Thanks for that response Joan – I’m glad you didn’t think I was “having a go”.