Greg Laden is a blogger, writer and independent scholar who occassionally teaches. He has a PhD from Harvard in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology, as well as a Masters Degree in the same subjects. He is a biological anthropologist, but for many years before going to graduate school to study human evolution, he did archaeology in North America. He thinks of himself as a biologist who focuses on humans (past and present) and who uses archaeology as one of the tools of the trade. Greg blogs regularly on ScienceBlogs at http://www.scienceblogs.com/gregladen/.
Dr. Joseph J. Salvo attended Phillips Andover Academy, received his A.B. degree from Harvard University and his Master and Ph.D. degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. Dr. Salvo joined the GE Global Research Center in 1988. His early work focused on the development of genetically modified bacteria and fungus, for the production of novel high performance polymers. In the mid 1990's he turned his group's efforts towards developing large-scale internet-based sensing arrays to manage and oversee
business systems. Most recently, he and his team have developed a number of complex decision engines that deliver customer value through system transparency and knowledge-based computational algorithms. Commercial business implementations of his work are currently active in Europe, and Asia as well as North and South America.
Dr. Peter Tu received his undergraduate degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and his doctorate from Oxford University England.
In 1997, he joined the Visualization and Computer Vision Group at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY. He has developed algorithms for the FBI Automatic Fingerprint Identification System. He is the principle investigator for the ReFace program, which has the goal of automatically computing the appearance of a person’s face from skeletal remains. Dr. Tu has also developed a number of algorithms for the precise measurement of specular and high curvature objects. His current focus is the development of intelligent video algorithms for surveillance applications.
This is the tenth daily question on the Collective Imagination blog.
Every day, respond to the question (or another commenter's answer) and you will be eligible to win a custom ScienceBlogs USB drive. We'll announce the previous day's winner in each daily question post.
Yesterday, we asked how information about healthy practices could be better communicated.
Many of you expressed that communication itself is not the problem, but rather the challenge of taking what we know and translating it into actual lifestyle choices. A good number of you also felt that better health education from a young age is important, and other answers included tailoring messages to the appropriate audiences, separating the association between consumption and prosperity, and placing more emphasis on mental health and good decision making in addition to strictly physical health.
Annette Saccoccio is our randomly selected winner of the day. Annette, email us at [email protected] to claim your prize!
We'll be giving out USB drives daily through the end of March. To get your own, answer today's question in the comments below:
Is your ability to practice healthy habits limited by your home or work environment? How?
For more information about health care and technology, check out GE's healthymagination.
Medicine & Health
Comments
Not enough time in the day to get any exercise; too much pressure, both domestic and work wise to be able to set enough time aside for proper exercise and often too exhausted when finally get it.
PE in school is taught as team sports and games. No emphasis on workout routine, say. Getting children in habit, at primary school of doing a 10 minute routine on a daily basis would be a huge step forward in helping them learn to incorporate it into daily routine, like school assembly or brushing your teeth.
Posted by: mumfie | March 12, 2010 12:33 PM | Reply
I think economic factors are the biggest limit to healthy habits. Having lived through lean times and times of plenty, I can say that financial considerations often determine your home and work environment. Sugary, carbohydrate loaded food is cheap. Not only is it a way to fill your belly, but also a method of enjoyment when you're not able to spend money on other activities.
Public school children often have limited choices. And parents who are financially challenged can't afford to send wholesome foods and often leave junk food for children to eat while they are at work.
Furthermore, rural residents without financial resources have less access to other forms of healthcare, such as medical facilities. There are not a lot places to turn to for help in these communities.
Sometimes people may want to be healthier, but our society has made good health practices less convenient and more expensive (short term) than poor health practices.
Posted by: SouthernFriedSkeptic | March 12, 2010 12:37 PM | Reply
My work environment actually encourages healthy exercise habits, now that I look at it that way. There are many two- and three-story buildings connected by hallways and stairways that afford long noon-time walks indoors when the weather is bad. There is a walking path that circumnavigates the entire site for long noon-time walks outdoors when the weather is good. That path also connects to a state walking/bicycling trail in one direction, and to a maze of city walking/bicycling trails in the other direction.
At home I have easy access to roads with paved shoulders that connect to the city trail system, allowing me to bicycle to work and other places whenever the weather cooperates and I feel like committing the time to it. It is about an hour ride to work, so I usually only ride once or twice a week during the non-snowy months.
Posted by: Don | March 12, 2010 1:01 PM | Reply
I have no restrictions to practice healthy habits. I go to a gym, my wife goes to Jazzercise and extended family (grown children) all exercise in one form or another.
I was just at the public library for story time with my grandchildren and there was another child there right around 1 year old (not quite walking) and the mother gave the child a bottle of chocolate! milk. Now that is an unhealthy habit for sweets before the ability to walk.
Posted by: NewEnglandBob | March 12, 2010 1:29 PM | Reply
Well, I'm a PhD student at a mid-sized Canadian university, so I'd say my work (at least) encourages healthy exercise habits, much like Don's (above). Big, open campus, with building connected by underground or overhead corridors for use during the long, cold winters, plus an excellent suite of fitness facilities right near by and very cheap (for students, e.g. me). I walk to school (about 25 minutes), which I'm sure makes a big difference, so I'd say my home, at least its location also contributes positively. The city I'm in is small enough to walk to many places, and big enough to have interesting places to walk to. Another bonus.
Now if I could just get off my ass and start using these great things more...
Posted by: TheBrummell | March 12, 2010 1:30 PM | Reply
Quite honestly my computer habits are the biggest problem. I am constantly sitting in front of this keyboard. I have tried to be faithful about taking 15-30 minute breaks to get up and walk but it is difficult as deadlines approach so quickly and time has a way of moving forward much too rapidly.I'm certain that I am not the only one with this problem.
Posted by: Annette Saccoccio | March 12, 2010 2:22 PM | Reply
@TheBrummell: That's the key, isn't it? What it took for me was having two cow-orkers having major cardiac events within three months of each other. I decided I didn't want that, so I started using the hallways, stairs, and paths and nearly every noon I take a 45-minute-or-so walk around the place. In two years I've lost about 65 lbs. A side benefit is that I'm much more alert in the afternoons after the walks . . . .
Posted by: Don | March 12, 2010 2:27 PM | Reply
I live about .75 miles from work and I don't have a car. I almost always walk to work and back; ride the bike infrequently lately, but sometimes ride it every day. I also have a very energetic dog who has finally learned enough leash manners for me to jog a bit on our morning walk. I'm kind of a weenie about going to the gym, though. Even though it is in the building where I work. I generally take the shortest lunch break possible so I can get home and play with the dog. It's necessary for me to keep fairly rigid sleep/wake schedules and I really can't find a way to include gym time after work or in the evenings. I love contradancing (fabulous aerobic workout plus full-contact flirting!) but rarely go any more because it keeps me out and awake too late.
I also sit on an exercise ball at work, and have a sit-stand keyboard/monitor arrangement, does that count?
Posted by: Nora | March 12, 2010 2:31 PM | Reply
Oh yeah; food at work. Not so good. There are vending machines at the corner of each building, filled mostly with NOT healthy items! What I did about that is to stop using them ever. Never. At first it was hard; I had food from home, but it was so easy to justify a morning snack . . . and an afternoon snack . . . and another snack whenever I felt stressed . . . until the only answer for me was to leave ALL my money home until it became a habit to only eat what I brought from home. Now if I feel the need for a snack (dark chocolate, usually -- it's health food ;^) I walk the two-and-a-half miles to the nearest Target store, figuring I earned the chocolate from the walk. It seems to work....
Posted by: Don | March 12, 2010 3:40 PM | Reply
My work environment isn't the worst; there's good walking trails and an on campus fitness center. Though (not) hilariously, the cafeteria food is pretty insanely unhealthy for a medical center.
Also, my specific job has some serious drawbacks. Long periods of sedentary stuff. And the little things (if you work in a radioactivity lab, you can't keep that bottle of water by your desk that you know you should be drinking), and big things (like the fact my PI wants me working 24/7, and any time spent eating/sleeping/working out/spending time with people or really anything that could help physical or emotional health, is frowned upon) add up.
Posted by: becca | March 12, 2010 3:50 PM | Reply
I'm lucky, as there are no external restrictions on my ability to keep healthy habits. I live in an extremely walkable city, and have thought nothing of walking roughly four miles in nice weather. My university regularly promotes healthy cooking sessions run by students. I'm not so poor that healthy foods must be passed over for budgetary reasons in favour of cheaper (but sugar- or grease-loaded) items.
Posted by: Maronan | March 12, 2010 7:03 PM | Reply
Work and home both limit my ability to "go healthy." I live too far away from work to walk, and getting there involves going straight through the middle of a very bike-unfriendly city -- quite seriously, I value my life too much to bike. Our managers have been pushing a "bike to work" scheme for years, but (a) I don't see how going through the middle of traffic breathing exhaust is actually that good for you (there are no separate bike trails or lanes), and (b) every year a dozen or so co-workers end up in A&E; after having been hit by cars. So, no, thank you. I'm afraid I drive.
My job has a nasty habit of requiring either working through lunch, or managers scheduling lunchtime meetings. So much for getting out to the gym or even for a decent long walk. I can do that 1-2 days out of every 5. It isn't enough.
And while I used to go to the gym after work, now it seems I'm required to drive my husband home straight after work -- he doesn't drive, himself, but he also doesn't go to the gym OR like waiting around for me. Yay yippee. He and I have had a few talks about this, but he genuinely doesn't get how little choice I have about exercising during the day. He does get out for a walk almost every lunchtime, himself, so he doesn't see why I can't.
And once at home, I have homework, so I'm generally parked in front of a computer for the next n hours, too. While I technically could get out for a walk while at home, this is undesirable on the grounds that we don't exactly live in the best part of the city, and I don't much like dealing with the neighbourhood drunks and druggies. Not exactly like a lovely ramble in the countryside.
Unfortunately, all of this is reflected in my spreading derriere. I need to convince husband to find his own way home on a more regular basis so that I can pick up the one gym schedule that ever worked for me again, but so far that hasn't happened.
Posted by: Luna_the_cat | March 12, 2010 9:19 PM | Reply
Except for the fact that work is very stressful and I don't often feel like I can add more stress on top of that by going to the gym, There's not much restriction. I have a gym at work, but during the hours when I could go it's very crowded. I have anxiety and facing a panic attack because of the crowd after or before working for 10-12 hours is never appealing.
Also, I suppose where work and home are situated is a problem. If they were closer, I could walk between them and that would be more healthy. My last job was close enough to my apartment that I could walk and I had a grocery store in between them so I often would walk to work, stop by the grocery store on the way home and cook my dinner. These days, I more often resort to takeout (although never fast food, blech) because it's such a hassle to get to the store. I'd move closer to work, but there's not any housing closer than where I am.
Posted by: Chiral | March 12, 2010 9:26 PM | Reply
I'm a paramedic in a small, rural ambulance station. We don't get a lot of patients, so to make ends meet I take a lot of shifts... usually 6 day shifts and 3 night shifts each week. That's about 90 waking hours each week when I have to be within a couple minutes of the station.
Before starting this job my favorite exercises were hiking, mountain climbing, and cross country skiing. Now I get by with a stationary bike, but it's a tough slog.
I've tried to think of a less healthy work environment, but nothing comes to mind.
Posted by: RyanG | March 12, 2010 11:08 PM | Reply
Better availability of healthy food at work would be a plus. But always take the stairs instead of the elevator. And I ride my unicycle sometimes over lunch hour.
If I were single and lived alone, I'd probably work out a lot more than I do now. But as it is I have to stop and, you know, talk to my spouse and stuff. Also if the weather is bad and she is along, I take the car instead of ride my bike.
If she liked to exercise with me, though, that would be the best-case scenario. I would love that.
Posted by: george.w | March 12, 2010 11:50 PM | Reply
No.
Posted by: JS | March 13, 2010 1:47 AM | Reply
Yep, my health is affected negatively (and positively) by my environment.
I live on a small college campus where everything is within 15 minutes walking distance, and so that allows me to get at least 30 minutes of walking each day. To top it off, I also get free access to the school gym and pool, plus excersize classes for free.
But that is a major downside to living on a college campus: the food. Most of the cafeteria food is either; A: healthy and badly cooked or B: Bad for you, but delicious
Our choices are (generally) pasta loaded with goodies, some sort of Americana (hot dogs, burgers, etc.), tiny salads or badly cooked rice dishes; did I mention the all-you-can-eat desserts? It is nearly impossible to eat correctly on a college campus that forces you to buy a meal plan and gives you so little choice.
Posted by: Lyle | March 14, 2010 10:28 AM | Reply