These Mesmerizing Maps of Where People Jog Reveal Something Telling About Major U.S. Cities

[ChrisV]

http://mic.com/articles/81395/these...veal-something-telling-about-major-u-s-cities

I wanted to start a discussion about this, because I think it's an important fact. If any of you guys are familiar with any of these cities, you'll notice a very big difference in the socioeconomic status of the areas where people are more actively exercising. What do you gather from this data? What do you think it means or implies?


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[AgainstAllOdds]

http://mic.com/articles/81395/these...veal-something-telling-about-major-u-s-cities

I wanted to start a discussion about this, because I think it's an important fact. If any of you guys are familiar with any of these cities, you'll notice a very big difference in the socioeconomic status of the areas where people are more actively exercising. What do you gather from this data? What do you think it means or implies?

Fact: Rich people are more likely to own a smartphone.
Fact: RunKeeper is an app for smartphones and requires GPS.
Fact: The article quoted uses RunKeeper for all its data and conclusions.
Fact: Their conclusion ... and yours ... is that poor people don't exercise because according to this RunKeeper data, they're only working out in nicer areas.

Do you see the disconnect?

Correlation does not equal causation. Just because there is no RunKeeper data in the poorer areas, does not mean that there is no one working out in those areas. It simply means that there are less people using smartphones, and in effect using apps like RunKeeper.

 

[ChrisV]

Alright, so since it's such a "far fetched" conclusion, I'll be a little more blunt:

And I'm sorry, "Rich People are more likely to own a smartphone"... according to whom?


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[csalvato]

People like to run by water.

 

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[AgainstAllOdds]

Alright, so since it's such a "far fetched" conclusion, I'll be a little more blunt:

Big surprise: The more money you have ... the more able you are to extend your life span.

So you're telling me that someone in a third world country is more likely to die than I am ...? And that extends to other societies too ...?

And I'm sorry, "Rich People are more likely to own a smartphone"... according to whom?

According to simple fact. The poorer you are, the less likely you are to afford luxury (non-necessity) goods. Here's a quick graph:

And note:

The reason I'm posting these replies is because you're advocating a victim mentality. The "Oh I'm a certain color, so I can't work out. Oh I'm poor, so the world hates me," mentality.

That mentality is not beneficial in the least bit. Until you start judging yourself for your actions, and stop searching for excuses for why you can't be fit, successful, etc., then you won't be able to get anywhere.

 

[ChrisV]

And I'm not sure where I made any claims of causation. I made claims of correlation, be sure simply there. IS a huge correlation between socioeconomic status and health. That's not a point even up for debate. The purpose of the thread is more so asking why it is that way. We've known for a long time that poor people have shorter life spans, suffer from ill health more, etc. And the obvious thing is correlation does not imply causation, but the question in, which came first, the Egg, or the Chicken. Do you think there IS any causation of these things.

Link: http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2014/08/23/health-financial-wealth-closely-linked/14462223/

Link: http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/wealthhealth.aspx

Link:http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-p...suggests-link-between-health-wealth-v19397882


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[AgainstAllOdds]

Do you think there IS any causation of these things.

There is. So what you gonna do about it? Keep complaining, or get into the top tax bracket?

I need to get back to work. Time to increase my odds of being healthy.

 

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[ChrisV]

And note:

The reason I'm posting these replies is because you're advocating a victim mentality. The "Oh I'm a certain color, so I can't work out. Oh I'm poor, so the world hates me," mentality.
[/B][/U]

What the shit are you talking about? You have zero idea what I advocate for or against.

If anything I advocate for people being healthy and that helping them achieve their other goals.

But even if I were, it's not really your business.

But okay, you figured it out Detective Dan!


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[Achilles]

Incoming generalization. Most people who are overweight particularly obese are shunned from society. People are more judgmental than ever. Ask any ex-fatty and they'll tell you they were practically invisible in the opposite sexes eyes. Its harder to find a helping hand, if you cant help yourself. Being out of shape (to me) says a lot about someone. If I was hiring someone and my main critieria was that the candidate must have a proper work ethic, you think im gonna hire someone who cant eat at a relatively low calorie intake and exercise for 3 hours a week? No im gonna judge them subconsciously and assume that the person cant perform at the job. There is literally no excuse anymore to be outta shape. No one cares about your thyroid issues or that you like food too much. Successful people respect their bodies generally. Greater percentage of poorer people do not. It kinda goes to another theory, in which I also believe, that if you happen to be ugly your gonna have to work a lot harder in life.

 

[ChrisV]

There we go! someone actually contributing to the thread rather than posting moronic bullshit.


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[csalvato]

What do you gather from this data?

People like to run by water.

moronic bullshit.

I was being serious. People like to run by water.

But, while I'm here, you seem to be making a big mistake.

You can't come up with a hypothesis then "prove" it by posting up random news stories that seem to support it.

That's not how the scientific method, or basic proofs work.

You need to have a hypothesis, premises and conclusions.

Your hypothesis seems sound. Your premises seem way off though.

Anyone can prove they are right about anything if they just find some news stories that agree.

That aside, I do think SES has something to do with health, but not what you think. The most fit people I know are those who are making peanuts - they just work out all the time and train the sports they love.

All this data shows is where people with smartphones run. Nothing more, nothing less.

One more thing: measuring "healthiness" based on if someone runs or not is pretty shit. IMHO lazy people run because they don't know what else to do that's "healthy".

 

[James Fake]

Fat people are fat cause they're lazy 99% of the time. Self-discipline falls under "lazy" because it's hard work to be self-disciplined.

Lazy people = make less money.

 

[zerobrainwash]

Another thing missing here. Who's more likely to make it, healthy person or someone with chronic illness?

What would be more interesting to find out is not correlation between health and wealth since the correlation is obvious already but the causation. Does better health bring more wealth or wealth more health? I haven't seen any scientific studies on this but we could all agree that in general all successful people take good care of themselves. I heard one investor say that they choose who to fund based on how founders deal with stress, some resort to alcohol or whatever, others blow off in healthy and sustainable ways such as exercise. Guess who he's more willing to fund?

 

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[SBS.95]

Fact: Rich people are more likely to own a smartphone.
Fact: RunKeeper is an app for smartphones and requires GPS.
Fact: The article quoted uses RunKeeper for all its data and conclusions.
Fact: Their conclusion ... and yours ... is that poor people don't exercise because according to this RunKeeper data, they're only working out in nicer areas.

Do you see the disconnect?

Correlation does not equal causation. Just because there is no RunKeeper data in the poorer areas, does not mean that there is no one working out in those areas. It simply means that there are less people using smartphones, and in effect using apps like RunKeeper.

I agree with this entire post. OP's article doesn't really prove anything.

That being said, there definitely seems to be a link between success in health and wealth.

• Both require denying yourself pleasure, whether it be Mcdonalds or partying every weekend.
• Both require long term commitment. No one gets jacked after one workout session, and no one becomes rich after selling one product.
• Both require education (often self-taught) to really take things to the next level.

There are definitely exceptions, but generally speaking someone who applies the principles of success to one will have some degree of success in the other aspect of their life.

I don't think OP was trying to make a correlation=causation argument. It seems more like he's pointing out what most of already know- those who are successful in business also tend to exercise often, read lots of books, etc. Not exactly new information, but always worth reinforcing, in my opinion.

 

[Get Right]

I usually run in more affluent areas than I live in. Just a habit because I have a choice.

I could just as easily run in the industrial complex, rural farm road or even a less affluent neighborhood. But I don't.

Interesting article either way, thanks.

 

[wade1mil]

This isn't an income issue. It's a life choices issue. In general, people that make poor decisions make less money, eat less healthy and aren't as active. If someone wants to be healthier, they can do so whether they make $20,000 per year or $200,000 per year. Walking and running is free. Cavemen didn't make a lot or money or have gym memberships. Make better life choices and you'll be in better shape and make more money.

 

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[Veloce Grey]

A few reasons come to mind-

-People are obviously going to prefer running in richer areas. Usually things are more scenic and obviously far safer.

-Running for the sake of exercise is something rarely associated with poorer individuals, except perhaps young men. Even then I'd suggest they're more likely to get their exercise from sport

-While poorer people obviously have smartphones, they probably aren't waking up in the morning thinking "hey I better do 10 miles with Runkeeper on my phone so I can keep in shape and then look at this app to show how fit I'm keeping". If they're really wanting to improve their situation they may be out studying or working in some crap job to pay the bills while planning for something better. If they've basically given up on life they may just wake up and watch tv, waste time on facebook or hit the bottle. In both cases they probably aren't too worried about Runkeeper.

I imagine it's a similar demographic skew you'd get to mapping out people who climb mountains, another example of something both associated with driven individuals who are likely to end up more wealthy, but also with people who already have the luxury of being able to spend time on what would be considered by many around the world a frivolous pursuit.

 

[healthstatus]

My company writes software that tells people what is going to kill them, we have been doing that for 18 years now.

• the premise of using an APP to facilitate this discussion is pretty ridiculous, lower income groups have great distrust in systems that monitor them and are highly unlikely to use them
• when a corporation offers our software to their employees, higher income positions take advantage of it at a much higher rate than lower income positions. Follow-up interviews indicate the lower income employees fear that the employer will fire them if they find out that they have a condition or unhealthy behavior.
• no one has mentioned stress as a key factor in lower income health, stress is relieved through a number of unhealthy behaviors, overeating, smoking, drinking, drugs, domestic violence. All these unhealthy behaviors create more stress, usually just by their monetary cost, but also the fear of being caught, or victimized
• access to care, new doctors don't setup shop in these areas, fitness facilities, pharmacy are all issues for the poor, in most cities, you don't want to go to the downtown hospital, you want go to the new hospital out in the suburbs.
• lower income areas have a disproportionately higher percentage of single parent homes, which allows for less free time,
• cheap food is generally high in calories, and low in nutritional value, and as with the doctors, you won't find the whole foods store in these neighborhoods.
• from a psychological point of view living longer in poverty is not something a lot of people aspire to, so if they feel they can't escape, why prolong it

I don't have any statistical data, but from interview data, higher income people want to achieve and rise, in lower income areas there is an undercurrent of doing these kinds of things makes you "think you are special" or "better than everyone" so there is peer pressure to not excel or you become a target.