With the health care reform debate that is going on, and with all the focus on saving energy and living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, and with obesity on the rise as one of the major health risks, I think it is time that we pay more attention to the way we exercise. It is known fact that obesity is in a major way a result of imbalance between energy consumed in food and the energy used in activity. Many people try to spend the extra energy by going to the gym and doing workouts that include walking on treadmills and using other electrical equipments. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people use such tools on daily bases and the consequences of using such tools on the environment are not often considered.
The economical costs of using such amounts of electricity on daily bases can accumulate to very high numbers. I think it is the time for sport facilities to include more activities that are environmentally friendly. On the other hand, spending human energy in activities, such as running on a treadmill,?might raise some moral questions. Can we include in gyms physical activities that might help others? I think it is a question worth examining. There are a lot of people who need help, and to waste human energy and time?in such a manner, given its important health benefits,?raises important ethical questions. This split that exist sometimes between what is physical and what is moral in the form of exercise is curious. Furthermore, maybe we will find one day that the human body will burn more energy when engaged in a productive activity than when engaged in a mechanical activity. May be it is time to think of creative ways to make exercise green and productive.
Majed Ashy, Ph.D.
BU Alumnus, 1994, 1997, 2003
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