[CancerStrikes2]

You say you disagree, but clearly disagree without knowing exactly with what you are disagreeing. Tai chi and yoga ARE forms of exercise. Asians are very much into their exercise and keeping physically active throughout the day. It is actually very much a part of their lifestyle, more than it is apart of an American lifestyle. And there is surprisingly nothing wrong with calories as long as it is 1) being used and 2) comes from good food (meaning, the calories are paired with nutrition that your body can use). The problem with most Americans is that there is very little nutritional value attached to those calories, and many people don't exercise/stay active.

Here is the definition, as it seems it is needed for clarification based on your response. Exercise: "an activity requiring physical effort." This is also what describes an active lifestyle. An active lifestyle consists of activities requiring physical effort. Sedentary: "means a lifestyle that includes only the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life." (notice, not activity requiring physical effort); Moderately active: "means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life." Active: "means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life." And walking, as you know, is a form of exercise. So there you have it. Exercise is what is needed in a person's routine to be considered active. http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter4.html

However, since there are so many people who are the "TV couch potato + Xbox player" as you mentioned above, the idea of what is an active lifestyle in America has become almost warped. They think (just as you mentioned above) that anything more than sitting all day long is considered an active lifestyle. For example, a person thinks they live an active lifestyle if they work a desk job and run an errand or two after work (which for most of us consists of getting in and out of our cars), and cooking dinner. So, when a person says "active lifestyle" such as you said above, this is typically what is included in that category (as they think that just getting out of the house makes them active!), but really does not require hardly any physical effort. So really, I think more Americans live a sedentary lifestyle than we may think. I know of the Asian lifestyle of which you are speaking, and typically across the board, they all have AT LEAST moderately active lifestyles and are much more active than the American lifestyle. In Asia, they typically incorporate "physical activity that requires effort" in their daily routines.

I think it is pretty obvious that exercise increases life expectancy, which happens for a reason. However, exercising not only inconveniences people but also requires physical effort that many in this excuse-making society would rather not do. And most things that people would rather not do in this culture, we don't do and we sure know how to come up with a million-and-one excuses as to why we don't need it. And, the reason for the fact that there is a huge health and fitness industry is because so many people get caught in this rut that is so common of our culture yet does not coexist with our fashion industry's superficial need to look great. And healthy diets are finally starting to become a little more mainstream. These two go hand-in-hand as baby-boomers are now of the age in which they are most concerned about these things for the purpose of prolonging their lives, increasing their energy, and just looking the best they can as they begin to age. Health and fitness was not always a big industry, but it is today for these reasons. I personally think it is a good thing.

Additionally, it can be tricky to compare a culture like America to an Asian culture. There are so many differences other than just health and fitness that I would not know where to begin. For example, they do not need a big booming health and fitness industry because they already individually take care of that, because in the Asian culture, there is an over-achiever, perform the best to one's ability, no excuses mentality that we often times have less of here because we nurture more of an understanding of one's setbacks mentality here, which often results in a mentality of excuses. So, it's not that Asians live longer because they don't have a fitness industry... it's more the opposite, that they don't have a fitness industry because they are already living longer because they individually take care of their fitness needs. They don't even really seem to need the motivation that our fitness industry provides for us (and still many of us don't even bother due to our cultural mentality of excuses!).

When you wrote such a lengthy post like this, it lost its purpose and creating more confusing as most goes to such board just to scan the words. This is not a contest; it is a board to view everyone’s opinion and not to make yourself sounded like the one who knows it all.

Your posted Exercise definition is conflicting with the original Taichi’s purpose. There is no physical effort taken place in Taichi. You believe Taichi is a form of exercising but it was not in the eyes of Asians. When you talk to the youngster, they would say Exercise in America is to get big & getting tone. For the 50’s, they would say for their mostly health benefits, loosing weight. The Taichi & Yoga in America is not the same like the one taught in Asia countries. Entrepreneurs have changed its originality meaning. Thousand years ago and even now in Asia countries, Taichi taught in high school, in monastery was to promote a better blood circulation (through different breathing technique along with very slow movements) due to lack of physical labor. You are not supposed to use any physical effort or use it to gain muscles. None so whatever...

Your Asian friends, are they the 1st generation here in America or not? The 1st, 2nd, 3rd are all different, their point of views are shaped up by years of living here in America, by their peers influence, by their surroundings, by society trends (digital age), the age (20’s don’t view the same as 50’s) and by their stereotype shapeup mind, etc.

There is no tricky at all to compare between Asian and American/European if you are not one of them that actually have grown up in both cultures long enough to differentiate. For example, Chinese foods here in America (or even in Dubai & Moscow) not the same as Chinese foods are served (cooked) in China/Singapore/Taiwan/Vietnam/Thai. Vietnamese foods are not the same here in America either. Those Vietnamese Pho & sandwich is not the same either. Mexican Tacos in US is not the same as the one served in Mexico. You get my point.

Asians in Asia don’t have the same American mentality of going to the gym, getting big, consume extra supplements and not only that, growing up in the countries that foods are rare and expensive, they don’t have the mean to eat a lot (fatty snacks or supplements). They use more labor strength to be physical active while we Americans are not.

You said everyone has some sort of physical active form... Well, I work at computer desk all day long. I sure don’t exercise. The only physical active things I do are mowing my own yard ¼ acre land, digging my own holes to plant my tree, playing piano to release my work stress, helping elderly when I got a chance. No walking, no jogging whatsoever.

If you eat properly + moderately, the so called modern exercise, the gym is not the MUST and that was my point in the last post.

My one cent today… Cheers,
-V