Ok, first of all I am going to warn you all that my husband can be a jerk. I was thinking that if I give him an answer that he will leave it alone. I belong to this board, another board that I don't go to very much, I have a message board, I moderate a different message board and I have been asked to run a support group for the band. My husband wants to know if anyone thinks that by me having a message board and being involved in a message board is enabaling people to sit on the computer and not change their activity level. He says that sitting on the computer all day is 1 of the things that possibly caused our obesity problems. He says by creating a message board that people can go on a chat all day defeats the fact that we all need to be active. I don't think I am doing a very good job at getting his point across because I don't agree with him. He was asking me what good is it to have these boards, and I gave him many reasons over and over. I also told him that I was sure that nobody stays on the forums all day long. How much time do you spen on message the internet and what are your thoughts on my husband's question? Myself, I don't agree with him and since I am a very busy person, I spend very short amounts of time online, but when I am in downtime, I can spent a couple of hours online, just like he does at night when everyone else is sleeping. Please don't shoot the messanger, but I wanted to give him his answers.

Thanks for your time everyone.

Hugs

i know i have to watch myslef or i will spend all my extra time on the board. i work all day at home on my computer. if i spend a lot of extra time on the site then yes, i am not being as active as i should be.

i don't think it is the cause of our obesity, but it certainly plays into easily. just my opinion.

Well, I have been known to cook dinner, clean house and or go work out then get on the computer for an hr or two. It's the way I choose to unwind.

To say a message board is creating obesity is like saying people who play Role Playing games (think Dungeons and Dragons) worship the devil.

Its called a red herring.

Now, some people DO have issues with message boards, but I think they already have some kind of issue in their life and are using it to escape their reality.

I get on the message boards I like, I read, I learn, I make friends, I laugh then turn the PC off.

I have no idea how much time I actually spend here, but I do know I've been here a lot lately and my husband is perfectly fine with it. Right now, he's outside with the boys. They have daddy time after being with mommy all day.

I can see his point about the activity level....I do need to move my butt more. I also feel this is a tremendous source of support that I couldn't find anywhere else. My husband enjoys some of the things I share with him......I usually share the funny things.

Perhaps there are other issues that need to be considered between the 2 of you. Is he jealous of the time you spend b/c he really feels it's taking time away from him? Just a thought to ponder.

I wish you the all the best. I don't think you are going to find a right or wrong answer here.

If I'm reading his concern correctly, he has a valid point. I mean, 8 hours a day reading message boards is 8 hours that our butts are in a chair, lol. Just like we need to keep our kids off of too much video gaming, tv, etc, we need to moderate ourselves. But he seems to be writing off the benefits of the support from this board, and we all need support just as much as we need exercise.

Some people watch TV, some people read, some people go on the computer, etc. I work full time and go to school full time and run my household. I am certainly NOT an inactive person. I would guess that your husband does not have a weight problem. If he did, he would understand the purpose a support board serves.

Well, it depends on how much time you spend sitting. While I'm online I also cook, do dishes, switch laundry. As long as you aren't neglecting houshold chores and you are getting in 30 min of excersize a day it is not affecting your overall activity enough to contribut to your weight issue. Most of us can attribute or weight problem to overeating plain and simple. Then factor in that we get support from this board that helps us continue forward toward weight loss and healthy living. These forums are a good thing.

He says that sitting on the computer all day is 1 of the things that possibly caused our obesity problems.

See -- now in my opinion, sitting on the computer all day is what brings in half of our income.

Just because people don't have a computer to be in front of doesn't mean they're going to be out exercising. There's a book, TV, game units, knitting/crocheting, painting -- lots of other things people might opt to do in their spare time that wouldn't really burn that many more calories than being on a computer.

DH and I own/admin four message boards, though DH does most of that work. Let's see... I have an office-type job, so 40+ hours is spent mostly on the computer. DH and I also do some online translation work for his father's company, that's another 5ish hours per week. I own a web design/development company in my "spare" time, right now I'm actually turning away jobs, but when I have the time to take them that's 10ish hours per week. Outside of work I spend at least 15 hours a week on the computer just doing my schoolwork - my master's program has online components.

I wouldn't attribute any of this to my obesity, at all. If I were doing it to be lazy, I could just as easily sit and watch tv.

I think he has a valid point. When I spent way more time on LBT and yahoo games, I definitely was not as active. And I tended to snack while I am on the computer too. So for me, yes. Less time on the computer meant more time doing something else, probably more active.

Does your husband seriously think that if you don't moderate a message board, the people who might have joined will opt instead to spend their time on the tennis court? Of course they won't....they will find something else to do, but it won't necessarily involve more activity. They might take a nap...or play online games (I like Canasta myself)...or buy stuff off E-Bay.

You are not responsible for how much time anyone spends on the computer except yourself. Just as you are not responsible for what anyone else puts in his/her mouth.

What a funny man!! If you use his logic then all the obese people all over the world must be vegging infront of a computer! I wonder if the TV has lost its place as the obese maker in his mind. The phone is really what started it all in the 50's you know, all those mommies drinking Folgers and Maxwell house and gossiping about each other! TSK TSK I guess food never had anything to do with my getting fat, and to think Ive been silly enough to get a band when all I needed to do was to turn off my computer!!!

Sorry bout that! That wasn't very nice was it. I think he really says it supports inactivity, well so does a lot of other things and the boards are only a small percentage, and I bet it is really a very small percentage at that.

Yeah, my DH thinks I spend wayyyy too much time on my puter too, but I told him I'm doing what I like to do, in a controlled environment, it's not like I'm out in 30 or 100 degree weather chasing a little white ball around for four hours....case closed.

I think the message board is merely another distraction. A supplement for something else we would do anyway. If there was no Internet, I wouldn't consciencely choose to exercise. I would choose to sit and watch tv, or sit and read a book.

The problem is not the computer/Internet/message boards/TV, etc. the problem lies within our choice to allow those things to take our time rather than exercise and eating healthy. I know fat people without computers. You cannot blame one thing on the other, it's all about free will.

Kristin

Geeze!

No offense but I think your husband needs to get a life and manage his own time.

I think the message boards are good support systems for most of us. My DH has never had a weight problem and neither has any of his immediate family so most of the time he doesn't know what I deal with regarding weight. He always thought I could just stop eating and the weight would fall off but it just doesn't happen that way.

I need the message boards and I still get in my 5 to 6 workouts during the week, cooking, cleaning and taking care of DH along with working 40+ hours a week. Also I manage property and we are trying to start a business. So my life is full and the message boards have only been a help.