From: Herb Huston
To: All Dec-20-93 06:03PM
Subject: Re: Due process
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
From: huston@access3.digex.net (Herb Huston)
Message-ID: <2f5lha$4md@access3.digex.net>
Newsgroups: talk.abortion,talk.origins
In article <2f4lobINNe1o@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com>,
Adrienne Regard wrote:
}Oh, come on. How absurd. Walking is less beneficial than jogging, [...]
Actually, jogging can be a life-shortener while walking is a life-lengthener.
...Even when a woman kicks off her high-heeled shoes after
a shopping trip and exclaims 'My feet are killing me!', she
does not really believe it. But her statement contains more
truth than she might realize. It is an undeniable fact that
the foot is not a 'vital organ' like the heart, lungs, or
liver; but badly treated feet can shorten a lifespan as sure-
ly as a heart attack. To understand why this should be it is
necessary to make some field observations on the walking be-
haviour of the elderly. Those who have thoughtlessly abused
their feet for decades are finding old age a time for hob-
bling painfully along at a snail's pace. Others who still
have efficient walking feet can stride out for long 'consti-
tutionals.' Taking long walks in old age has emerged as one
of the best life-stretchers there is. A survey of exceptional
individuals who live into their nineties and beyond reveals
that a remarkably high proportion of them have been devoted
walkers, often covering several miles a day, every day. There
is something about relaxed walking that exercises the whole
body in an ideal way. The currently fashionable jogging habit,
on the other hand, can cause all kinds of problems, except for
younger adults. The feet love gentle movement; they hate jar-
ring movement.
-- Desmond Morris, _Bodywatching_, Crown, New York, 1985 (in the "Feet"
chapter, of course).
