Saturday, May 9, 2015

Unhealthy America

5 States Drinking Too Much Soda


1. Mississippi > Pct. consuming soda and/or fruit drinks daily: 41.4%
> Obesity rate: 35.1%
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 23.2%
> Median household income: $37,963
More than 41% of Mississippi adults reported more-than-daily consumption of regular soda or fruit drinks, by far the highest percentage among states reviewed. Nearly 51% reported less-than-daily fruit consumption, and more than 32% reported less-than-daily vegetable consumption, both some of the highest such rates. Relatively unhealthy diets in Mississippi are partly the result of poor socioeconomic factors, which can contribute to limited access to healthy food sources as well as lower health literacy levels among the population. Mississippi had the nation’s lowest median household income and the nation’s highest poverty rate at $37,963 and 24%, respectively.

2. Tennessee
> Pct. consuming soda and/or fruit drinks daily: 39.2%
> Obesity rate: 33.7%
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 26.8%
> Median household income: $44,297
High consumption of the often more affordable sugary beverages in Tennessee is largely the result of poor socioeconomic factors. Like all five states with the highest sugar consumption, Tennessee’s median household income of $44,297 was considerably lower than the national median income. Also, nearly half of the children in the state were eligible for free school lunch, the 10th highest share compared to all states. Not only do low incomes frequently contribute to a poor diet, but low incomes make it difficult to address health conditions when they arise.


3. Nevada
> Pct. consuming soda and/or fruit drinks daily: 36.3%
> Obesity rate: 26.2%
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 24.4%
> Median household income: $51,230
The elements of a healthy diet, such as low intake of added sugars, often need to be learned. Poor health literacy often contributes to an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. As in other states with high sugar consumption, Nevada residents had relatively low educational attainment rates. Less than 23% of adults in the state had at least a bachelor’s degree, much lower than the nearly 30% of Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree.


4. Oklahoma
> Pct. consuming soda and/or fruit drinks daily: 34.5%
> Obesity rate: 32.5%
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 25.4%
> Median household income: $45,690
More than half of Oklahoma residents reported consuming fruits less than once daily, nearly the highest proportion of residents consuming relatively few fruits. This was similar to just two other states reviewed. Low consumption of fruits and vegetables and high consumption of sugary drinks are both related to poor access to healthy food. Nearly one-quarter of state residents had poor access to sources of healthy and affordable food — one of the higher rates nationwide.




5. Georgia
> Pct. consuming soda and/or fruit drinks daily: 33.1%
> Obesity rate: 30.3%
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 32.3%
> Median household income: $47,829

Roughly one in three Georgian adults consumed regular soda and/or fruit drinks more than once a day, the fifth highest share among states reviewed. This was much higher than the just over 26% of American adults across the 18 states who reported more-than-daily sweetened beverage consumption. The reason for high sugar consumption is unclear. The CDC suggests, however, that poor diet quality is closely associated with lower socioeconomic status. As in all other five states with the highest sugary drink consumption, Georgia’s median household income of $47,829 was lower than the national median income figure of $52,250. Georgia’s poverty rate of 19% was also significantly higher than the national poverty rate of 15.8%.


The States With the Most McDonald’s

1. Ohio
> McDonald’s locations per 100,000 residents: 7.10
> Obesity rate: 30.4% (16th highest)
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 26.0% (12th highest)
> Median household income: $48,081 (19th lowest)
Ohio has more McDonald’s restaurants, 7.1 per 100,000 residents, than any other state and almost twice as many as Burger King’s 3.7 locations per 100,000 residents. There are far fewer McDonald’s outlets than Subways, which has 10.9 shops per 100,000 residents, more than in any other state. Ohio has the second-highest concentration of all major fast food restaurants. Only 15 states had an obesity rate higher than Ohio’s 30.4% in 2013. Ohio also has among the highest cardiovascular and cancer death rates, 274.6 per 100,000 and 207.7 per 100,000 respectively.


2. Michigan
> McDonald’s locations per 100,000 residents: 6.38
> Obesity rate: 31.5% (11th highest)
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 23.2% (23rd highest)
> Median household income: $48,273 (20th lowest)
Michigan has about 6.4 McDonald’s restaurants per 100,000 residents. The state is one of the most popular for fast food chains. In addition to McDonald’s, Michigan is in the top 10 for the number of Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC and Subway locations per 100,000 residents. McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants are often frequented by customers looking for affordable food. As in many other states with the most McDonalds, Michigan had a relatively high poverty rate of 16.8%. High concentrations of fast food restaurants are also tied to relatively poor health outcomes. Michigan’s obesity rate, 31.5%, was higher than all but 10 states, and its heart disease death rate was higher than all but seven states.


3. Kansas
> McDonald’s locations per 100,000 residents: 6.36
> Obesity rate: 30.0% (19th highest)
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 22.2% (19th lowest)
> Median household income: $50,972 (24th lowest)
An estimated 26.4% of Kansas residents had little access to grocery stores in 2010, the ninth-highest percentage in the country. This might help explain the prevalence of fast food restaurants in the state. Fast food chains thrive in Kansas. The state leads the nation with 39 major fast food chain restaurants for every 100,000 residents. McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Subway, and Pizza Hut are all among the most common in Kansas compared to other states. About 30% of Kansas residents were obese, tied with Pennsylvania and ahead of 30 other states. Kansas, a major U.S. beef producer, supplies McDonald’s
 
4. Maryland
> McDonald’s locations per 100,000 residents: 6.33
> Obesity rate: 28.3% (22nd lowest)
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 22.8% (25th lowest)
> Median household income: $72,483 (the highest)
Maryland residents are exceptionally wealthy compared to other states with the most McDonald’s locations. The median household in Maryland earned $72,483 in 2013, the highest income in the nation. Residents were well educated, with more than 37% of adults having attained at least a bachelor’s degree, the third-highest rate in the country. There were three Starbucks stores per 100,000 Maryland residents, the eighth-highest proportion and exceptionally high compared to other states with the most McDonald’s. McDonald’s, as well as many other fast food restaurants, is popular among customers looking for inexpensive food, but high incomes in Maryland have not prevented numerous fast food restaurants from opening throughout the state. Chick-fil-A, KFC, and Wendy’s are all also quite common. Unlike most states with large numbers of McDonald’s restaurants, Maryland residents reported relatively healthy habits and outcomes, with better-than-average fruit and vegetable consumption, and an obesity rate of 28.3% — one of the lower percentages in the country.


5. Louisiana
> McDonald’s locations per 100,000 residents: 6.30
> Obesity rate: 33.1% (6th highest)
> Pct. consuming vegetables less than daily: 32.5% (the highest)
> Median household income: $44,164 (8th lowest)
There are 6.3 McDonald’s restaurants and 4.1 Burger Kings per 100,000 residents in Louisiana, the fifth- and second-highest rates, respectively, in the country. Louisiana had the fourth-highest poverty rate in the country at 19.1% and the eighth-lowest median household income, $44,164. Louisiana also had some of the lowest educational attainment rates in the country in 2013. About 83.1% of residents had at at least a high school diploma, and 22.5% had at least a college degree, each the fourth-lowest rates in the country. The prevalence of fast food restaurants is often representative of poor food landscape, in which residents often do not have easy access to healthy foods. This, in turn, can increase the likelihood of negative health outcomes. About one-third of Louisiana residents were obese, a rate exceeded by only five other states. Further, the state’s residents had among the highest rates of diabetes, high blood pressure

The States With the Most Deadly Accidents


1. West Virginia
> Age-adjusted accidental deaths per 100,000:
71.5
> Pct. population using mind-altering drugs almost daily: 28.1 (the highest)
> Premature death (years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000): 10,159 (2nd highest)
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
There were more than 71 unintentional deaths per 100,000 people in West Virginia, by far the highest accidental death rate nationwide. Poison accounted for more than 31 accidental deaths per 100,000 people in the state, the highest rate in the country and nearly 10 percentage points higher than New Mexico’s second-place poison death rate. Nearly all poison deaths in West Virginia were drug related. In a recent Gallup survey, more than 28% of state residents reported using mind-altering drugs to relax nearly every day, the highest proportion in the nation. Daily mind-altering drug use is not necessarily linked to deaths, but the high percentage is inline with the incidence of drug overdoses in the state, including what state officials are calling a heroin epidemic.


2. Oklahoma
> Age-adjusted accidental deaths per 100,000:
62.6
> Pct. population using mind-altering drugs almost daily: 21.5 (13th highest)
> Premature death (years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000): 9,654 (5th highest)
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
More than 19 poison-related fatalities per 100,000 people in Oklahoma were reported, the sixth highest poison death rate in the country. As in other states, drugs accounted for the majority of poison deaths. Also, like most other states with high rates of accidental drug deaths, 21.5% of Oklahoma residents reported near-daily drug use to Gallup, one of the higher percentages compared with other states. Car accidents caused roughly 19 deaths per 100,000 Oklahoma residents, trailing only poison as the largest contributor to the state’s accidental death rate, and it was the fourth highest such rate nationwide.
3. New Mexico
> Age-adjusted accidental deaths per 100,000:
58.8
> Pct. population using mind-altering drugs almost daily: 18.4 (25th lowest)
> Premature death (years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000): 8,445 (10th highest)
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
There were 21.5 poisoning deaths per 100,000 New Mexico residents, the second-highest such rate nationwide and the largest contributor to accidental deaths in the state. Drug poisoning, including alcohol, accounted for most of these deaths. The approximately 3.2 non-drug deaths, such as ingesting household chemicals by mistake, accounted for the remainder and was the second-highest non-drug-related poisoning death rate nationwide. The prevalence of drug use in the state may be tied to poor socio-economic factors. Nearly 19% of residents did not have health insurance, a higher share than in all but four states. Also, a typical household earned $43,872 in 2013, nearly the lowest median household income nationwide. In addition to the high rate of accidental deaths, New Mexico’s violent crime rate of 597 per 100,000 people was nearly the highest in the country.


4. Montana
> Age-adjusted accidental deaths per 100,000:
57.4
> Pct. population using mind-altering drugs almost daily: 17.7 (18th lowest)
> Premature death (years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000): 7,480 (20th highest)
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor vehicle accidents

There were about 23 motor vehicle deaths per 100,000 Montana residents, the highest such rate nationwide and the leading cause of accidental deaths in the state. Montana is one of only a few states without required vehicle emission or periodic safety inspections, which may result in relatively more unsafe vehicles. Montana is also a very large state with a relatively small population, which likely increases travel times for many residents. Together with severe driving conditions during Montana’s extreme winter months, the lack of inspections and the long driving times likely drove the state’s high number of motor vehicle accidents. Falling was the second leading cause of accidental deaths in Montana, with a reported 12.6 falling deaths per 100,000 residents, the ninth highest such rate in the country.


5. Mississippi
> Age-adjusted accidental deaths per 100,000:
55.5
> Pct. population using mind-altering drugs almost daily: 22.3 (7th highest)
> Premature death (years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000): 10,354 (the highest)
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor vehicle accidents
Motor vehicles were the leading cause of accidental deaths in Mississippi at 22.5 such deaths per 100,000 residents, the second highest rate in the nation. There may be relatively more unsafe drivers in Mississippi, as the state was one of just a handful of states not to have a point system for driving violations. Depending on the state, points could result in the suspension or revocation of a driver’s license. In Mississippi, however violations are entered on a driver’s record, which is available to insurance companies and potential employers. Drug-related poisoning was the second leading cause of accidental death in Mississippi, with 9.3 drug poisoning-related deaths per 100,000 residents. The state had by far the nation’s highest rate of accidental death by suffocation at 6.1 such deaths per 100,000 residents.












27 comments:

  1. I had to do a paper last year on health literacy, and it's pretty staggering though not really unexpected to see how little people understand about their health. As my clinical time progresses, it is amazing to see how many people come into the office who have three specialists, are taking 5-6 meds and know absolutely nothing about the meds or why they are taking them.

    Many are critical of government efforts to try and solve problems that affect everyone. The food pyramid is a perfect example. Anyone with decent intelligence should understand what it means to eat healthy. However, if an honest pyramid was published, it would clearly call out 95% of all the highly processed food this country consumes (let alone all the unhealthy dairy products). Why is the pyramid a scam? Monied interests make it so. Ergo, a corrupted idea is proof that government sucks at everything it does.

    50 years ago, 40+ percent of the country smoked cigarettes and today its less than half that. It would not be so without a concerted effort from the government to drive down those rates.

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    1. Max, I have not forgotten your question ‘my solutions’ and have worked periodically on an answer which I will post as a new thread. Please, however, be patient as I am neck deep in some software work that is taking almost all my time and testing my mental stamina.

      I have been reading some things over the last several months that make me wonder about the veracity of all of our comments and beliefs on this site… sits in the realm of conspiracy but some things do come true and math seldom lies… so when I have time I will think out loud about that as well.

      With respect to the food pyramid… Who publishes it?... if you don’t want the government passing out bad information then help close the revolving door that allows corporate types to run these agencies… or better yet, if we can get no better information than that fed to us by business, then why pray tell do we have the agency in the first place. Serious question Max, if the FDA gets its info from industry… if drug approvals are rubber stamped reviews of industry scripted trials… what good is the money we spend on that agency and more importantly, what good is it really doing for the population?

      I have a little hobby when we are out grocery shopping…. I study other peoples shopping baskets. My informal observations are that a over 50% of the basket is filled with grain products… and the staple vegetables are of the root variety…. Either the government is an agent of the people or it isn’t.. be it democrat or republican run. I will say it again… cut the association with government (kill the power congress exerts over free trade) and you might get some honest law makers….

      As far as government and tobacco… I think that big tobacco won in the courts before they lost and the first class action suits weren’t brought by state or federal government. Only when the states saw a direct payoff did they get involved… I can guarantee that if the government had treated the product as something much more harmful than say… marijuana, they could have put in place a prohibition on it, stopped receiving tax revenues and let law suits and lung cancer solve the rest… but them taxes are just as much of an addiction to government as nicotine is to a smoker….

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    2. Ill await your response and new thread, but some general thoughts.

      Your third para asks a fair question. You chided me in a previous post for saying I am trying to unfairly concretize your views, but you are basically making my point here. The question is "If we it's just a conduit for business, why not just end it?" A premise buried in that, which I reject, is that corruption does not make an idea bad. I wouldn't go to say we should abolish Catholicism because the church has near tacitly abetted many pedophiles from abusing their power. Likewise, I dont' think we should end the FDA just because political power has been used to make it a wholly owned subsidiary of big agra. Would we be better as nation or have a safer food supply if we just ended the FDA? I don't think so. Even a somewhat corrupt agency is still better than what I think the free market will provide. But I'm guessing will likely disagree on that.

      As for cigarettes, they damn near did put a prohibition on it. They nearly banned advertising for it and then federally and locally made it much tougher to smoke in workplaces. I don't think lawsuits did anything to drive down smoking rates and it's a bit of a red herring. The taxation of it is to some degree capitalizing on addiction. Still, when I ran some numbers for a paper last year, I found that cigarette smoking costs us collectively 1% of GDP every year. That's a staggering amount of money.

      As final thought, I'm kind of starting to just develop an I don't give crap attitude. Here and there, I can do some things to try and help out those in need, but on a macro scale, the battle has been lost. There will be no help for the middle class, and eventually, after producing several generations of those who do less well than their parents, we will have created a sufficient number of people who will not fight for anything. People like yourself will blame the government for it, people like me will blame the wealthy for their exploitation. Both will have a point, but ultimately it will not matter because the result will be the same. You and I, who are both probably in decent financial shape, will blissfully continue our high falutin debates without having a remotely accurate sense of what it is like for people today who don't remotely have the resources that both of us have likely benefitted from because prior generations created something rather than looked for ways to cash in on every last intrinsic dime of wealth the country possesses.

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  2. Rick,
    Your post isn't at all surprising.

    What it doesn't say is 60% of Americans are obese or over weight. It also contributes to our healthcare woes. Colorado has the fewest obese people with 21% of the population being obese. That is dismal at best. The rest of the country follows with up to 35% of a state obese, a very sad state of affairs.

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    1. The more I deal with it, the more I am starting to look at obesity as just another example of addiction. I understand that a lot of people think the concept of addiction is a cop out for engaging in indulgent behavior, and I have to admit that I agree with some of that. Still, whether by design or just unexpected consequence, we have an enormous amount of cheap, calorie dense, high processed food that is really just a cut above eating pure sugar and salt. Heart disease is still the number one killer statistically and it goes hand in hand with obesity and diabetes.

      Here's a dillema I don't have a solid answer for. What is a bigger restriction on freedom, putting warnings on food labels like we did for cigarettes, or making the rest of us pay high insurance rates because of all the money that goes toward treating disease that is really a matter of lifestyle?

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    2. In some cases obesity is a medical condition, in most cases it is not.

      For most it is a complete life style issue. People eat to much. Exercise to little, eat late at night, drink to much, eat junk food, fast food etc. I watch my neighbors, many are overweight and do not exercise at all.

      We are paying for others poor life style choices. Perhaps it's time to add a surcharge to insurance for weight. The more you weigh, the more you pay.

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    3. It's interesting to me that Progressive auto insurance is currently highlighting this exact flaw rather colorfully with their commercials where the "rate suckers" climb all over a car. On some level, it is kinda that simple.

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    4. It's the nature of the game. The rates are what they are. Insurance is nothing but risk management - period.

      Good drivers pay for bad drivers. People who live in the desert pay for people who live on the flood plain. Healthy people pay for unhealthy people.

      With regards to health insurance, this is probably the area of focus to mitigate costs.

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    5. So insurance is wealth redistribution? Good lord! I'm sure the founding fathers never intended for something like to be allowed.

      Good to see ya Funky.

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    6. The carrot and stick is the only incentive that works with Americans. High cigarette taxes forces people to make a choice. High taxes incentivizes people to a behavior. If we add a dollar a pound tax to insurance for being over weight one of 2 things will happen.
      1. People will drop insurance.
      2. People will lose weight to pay more.

      It is as simple as that.

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    7. Funky, we pay for people's unhealthy lifestyle and nothing is done to discourage that behavior.

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    8. Howdy, gentlemen!

      @Max

      It's wealth redistribution only when the government does it. When a corporation does it, it's smart business ...

      @lou

      Are you actually advocating for a "Fat Tax"?

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    9. pfunky,
      How have you been?

      Life out side of the rain/snow in Colorado interesting. Over a foot of snow brings us to over 300% of moisture so far this year.

      How do you incentivize people to have a healthier life style? We have high cigarette taxes to discourage tobacco use. Here we have high POT taxes, 25% moving to 30% and it doesn't faze people and their use of POT. Can't really tax food at a higher rate without hotting healthy foods. The only way to reduce consumption of non essential foods, over eating would be to tax the fat.

      Not likely to happen imagine a weigh in scale before they give you the premium cost.

      Do Americans have a right to be fat? Obese? Do Americans have the right to eat far more than needed?


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    10. What about a consumption tax on unhealthy consumables? $.50 per soda, $.50 per cheesecake, $5 per pack of smokes? All the taxes collected go straight to some kind of healthcare fund?

      Or is that too impractical and inviting ridiculous amounts of lobbying?

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    11. So we tax healthy people who want to splurge once in a while?

      It's not just eating high sugar/fatty foods but the amount of food people eat not to mention the lack of exercise. How about that 9PM dinner?

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    12. Idk. Just spitballing. Certainly a tax on smokes seems reasonable.

      Let me ask you this, don't insurance companies give you a physical when you sign up? Mine did. Aren't they already determining your rates based in your health?

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    13. The ACA has changed the paradigm. Insurance companies can no longer charge more for those with health issues, pre-existing conditions. When my policy was cancelled, I checked the ACA web site, quote no physical. I went to my company directly and for 200 more a month, the same insurance policy with mental health care and maternity care added not to mention FREE add on's like physicals, immunizations. The immunizations are free which is great for those getting ready for foreign travel.

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  3. I like it, the more you weigh, the more you pay. The airlines charge extra for overweight luggage, why not extend that to the passengers themselves. They already charge more for the extra wide seats.

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    1. In all reality, I never was one to be a health junkie although I wasn't like a junk food junkie either, just somewhere in between like 95% of America and 95% of those here. A heart condition last October set me on this health journey and I will be the first to admit that it isn't easy. Some days when I work early and after a rough work day I am too exhausted to exercise but I push myself to do it anyway. At least a short walk, anything. When someone in my family breaks out the Cheetos damn right I want some but I break out veggie chips. Most of my problems with cholesterol are hereditary but one can still help out by controlling what we can. Max as far as your first post on the thread I don't understand that. I want nothing more then to get off ALL meds. I never took them before my heart problem and I am doing everything I can not to make it a permanent deal. The Doctor is like flabbergasted that I am so concerned with getting OFF the meds instead of wanting more. He keeps telling me that he can prescribe something cheaper when I complain. But it's not about money. I have a two hundred dollar pharmacy deductible which was used up in January the shit costs less the 60 bucks a month. My problem is that I don't see meds as the solution to all that ails us but long term as a detriment to my health. I guess DR's don't hear that enough.

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    2. Bad genes will do it every time. My wife was also diagnosed with high cholesterol. The doc said maybe she could control it with diet. She kept a log of everything that she ate for a month and gave it to the doc. Her Cholesterol dropped 8 points with a healthy diet so he put her on the meds. Diet cannot fix bad genes so it will be with her and probably you to for the rest of your life.
      Best of luck.

      Exercise bike in front of the TV works wonders. If you want to watch the news hit the bike. House rules.

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    3. Of course one has to question the veracity of the entire Cholesterol debate in the first place... I mean, arterial plaque in a rabbit was the source of this problem in the first place.... A rabbit being force fed cholesterol producing foods... and none of them were lettuce and carrots.. Ever seen a rabbit chow down on a nice juicy rub steak… or a fried egg? Swedish research has thrown considerable doubt on the assumptions between cholesterol it’s health implications but the AMA and pharmaceuticals aren’t so keen to acknowledge the largest cholesterol study in history…. The agri food industry is pretty vested in getting rid of meat and eggs too.

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    4. Fuck the exercise bike Lou that's the lazy man's way. I get on a real live bike. One that goes up and down and over the hills in one way, me pedaling my ass off. I started walking shortly after my stent placement and saw all these dudes riding out on the greenway. So I thought hell I got a bike I think I'll ride. When I started a 5 or 6 mile ride about killed me. Now I don't even load the thing up if I am not going to go 15 or 20. Rode 23 yesterday and wanted to go farther but time was not on my side. I had shit to do so I had to turn around and get back. We have a greenway here that is 33.5 miles end to end, built in such a way that you only cross one country road the whole distance.

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    5. Sorry, it's been raining here for the last month. I have a 50year old Schwinn 10 speed, a collectors item that I use when the weather is nice. Hate the 90's so exercise indoors as well as when it snows.

      We have miles of bike paths here as well as the mountain bike thing if the weather allows.

      Summer isn't a great time to ride with the heat, spring and fall are the best.

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    6. I have ridden many days in the rain, cold rain, it's all about motivation. Heat is tough but I have two water bottles with me always. In the rare snow here I walk the trails. It's all about motivation. Weather is not an excuse. by the way just a piece of common ground. I too ride a Schwinn but it's only about 8 years old not 50, and it is 21 speeds not 10.

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    7. And this week I hit a total of 50 lbs lost.

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    8. OUTSTANDING RICK.

      i was on Prednisone for a number of years and added 30 pounds. It's gone now so I am almost back to my original weight.

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    9. hey rick.

      Very old bike. Steel frame, steel wheels. Has some serious weight to it.

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