Slashdot Mirror
Wearing Shoes Bad For your Health?
Loafer writes "Are American sneakers--not American fast food--actually responsible for the obesity epidemic? It may seem like a laughable notion at first; however, not even the best nutritionists, working hard over the last century, have successfully identified a diet that permanently controls morbid obesity. Evidently, something else, besides food, is hindering the ability of overweight Americans to lose excess weight. Well, obesity is extremely rare in Japan, and the Japanese practice the custom of removing their shoes upon entering a home, office, or restaurant, replacing them with more-comfortable slippers, socks, or simply bare feet. Yet in the United States, where obesity is visibly widespread, shoes are worn constantly. Indeed, footwear appears to be a cause of disease in humans."
Soleless Shoes. Think about it.
I read Slashdot for the articles
AARRRRGGGHHH!!! My eyes are bleeding thanks to these bad jokes!!
Maybe the shoes that fat people are wearing are what make it comfortable to be fat.
With out shoes the only natural option would be to lose weight.
I only wear Birkenstock clogs/sandals.
Has anyone spotted the non-April fool's story on Slashdot today?
Okay, seriously, enough. Give up. People arent visiting the site anymore, look at the number of comments.. 200+, 160, 90, 30, none.
Lets have some regular slashdot news now, yeah?
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
Makes sense - 99.999% of people who have cancer have worn shoes at least once!
And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we'll drive for 45 minutes in a parking lot so we don't have to walk an extra 12 feet.
Aren't april fools jokes supposed to be fun?
I don't see a connection. So what if Americans wear shoes more often? There are other factors that make us different from the Japanese. You can't just single out one difference and blame it for obesity.
New plan, instead of food, lets send the shoes. Those people in ethiopa arnt starving because of lack of food, its their crappy shoes. What were we thinking...
-EL
..and I kept GAINING WEIGHT! So it MUST be true!
i'd rather risk getting fat than getting a nail in the foot.
Founder, Americans Allied Against Alliteration
I weighed myself with my shoes on and then with them off, I lost a pound!!!!!! It really works!!!!
The gun is good - Zardoz
Japanese arent obese... because they dont wear shoes. There hasnt been a terrorist attack since 9/11.. because of the department of homeland security. I havent been attacked by any tigers lately because... I have switched my shampoo to head and shoulders. Yes, this is a leap in logic Yes, i will get flaimed
The purpose of Shoebusters.com is to stimulate interest, discussion, and research about the effects of shoes and socks on major human illnesses and conditions such as obesity, depression, fatigue, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, and even the common cold, to name but a handful.
Maybe, just maybe there could be a connection between arthritis, fatigue and maybe depression caused by really ugly shoes. But since when are the systems in the human body that cause and are affected by asthma, heart disease and the common cold even closely connected to your feet?Plenty of fat Canucks.
Don't Tread On Us! At least not with your evil leather-clad feet.
Now I loathe April 1st.
This study sounds like Michael Crichton's Caltech on Aliens cause Global Warming.
Hey, if you can correlate any two events without providing proof and can even claim it to be valid science, the shoe-argument is fair enough.
Do you have CRT or TFT?
Slashdot officially has...
A Brit in Tallahassee.
how am I going to keep my iPod Socks from getting damaged?
CAUTION: Product may be hot after heating
i don't buy *ike.
stupid bargin shoes...
just get these, and then dont think about it.
Starsucks
Seriously, almost 100% of people that died of cancer had shoes, so maybe that's the cause...
for the "Funny" icon. Not because it is, though. It's just the right icon.
watching girls drive with no shoes on ... yay
rather than science.slashdot.org, this one might have been better sorted as steaming_pile.slashdot.org
and now back to the fallout shelter...
And for the suit that has everything, Executve Pong.
I can't believe someone wasted a mod point on this
While it may depend on the shoe - for example, Earth Shoes - in fact, sandals appear to be the best footwear for practical use.
But, if you insist on wearing western-style shoes, the practice of taking them off on entering a home not only will help your feet, it will reduce the amount of dirt, microbes, and dust mites that enter your domicile.
Also, since most American women's shoe sizes are two sizes too small for their actual feet, this can have a major impact just in reducing cramping into too small spaces.
Will in Seattle
This falls under the "not actually a joke" section of today's Slashdot. Read the article - it's actually kind of interesting and the pictures of the feet non-shoe wearing native tribes vs. the pictures of the shoe wearing are really striking. Comparing my own feet to the pictures of the un-shod is pretty striking too - and all of a sudden my cramped dogs are feeling kinda crummy.
this is just ridiculous... the ONLY way to control obesity is to take in fewer calories than you burn in your daily life. EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE! it works.
Free electronics!
Us Canadians also remove our shoes before entering our homes. I knew it kept our floors cleaner and I, for one, am happy to learn that it has the added bonus of keeping us thin. That makes a lot of sense somehow. I think it's safe to say that this is the one "real" April Fool's day story we've all been waiting for.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Funny that the article only minutely mentions obesity a few times, yet the Slashdot summary seems to say "shoes make us fat"...
Yeah, 'cause stepping in dog poop barefoot is good for you!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
What the fuck is wrong with you, editors? This is so not funny, my mouse just tried to strange itself with its own cord.
Japan was the only country to bomb Pearl Harbor. Maybe if we bombed Pearl Harbor ourselves, we'd all lose weight?
How 'bout if we nuked ourselves (twice). Would we all miraculously lose weight?
Shoes cause spinal misalignment, bunions, callouses and are the only reason that anyone worries about athlete's foot - you've provided a nutrient-rich, warm, dark environment for it, so it decides to stick around and munch on your foot.
But, uh... cancer? idonthinso.
Regardless, it's fun, it's cheap, it hurts no one else and it isn't illegal. Viva la barefoot! Just make sure you watch where you step, ok?
Personal health aside, people who never have their feet in contact with Mother Earth do a lot of ugly things to her!
Cover floor with sharp spiky things, like broken glass. The less you weigh, the lest it presses into the bottoms of your feet.
On a serious note: wearing sneakers most of your life makes it rather painful to switch to boots or hard leather shoes.
I like sandals in the summer, but there's just something ewww about wearing socks in them if you want to wear them to work.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
The people that shop at K-Mart don't wear shoes, and they're quite fat.
Nobody ever listens to me when I tell them things like this! Want to live forever? Here's a good way of increasing your chances:
Most people die in their beds; obviously, beds are a major cause of death. So sleep in a sleeping bag! Or on the floor! Heck, I'd bet you'd even have a better chance in the coffin.
the automobile would account for alot of obesity, i suspect, given the amount of short distance walking it has replaced.
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." -Jesus Christ The Lord's Prayer
The ironic thing is that shoes can cause health problems, mainly muscle problems (cramping, aching) from the feet to the back. But of course the OSHA would prefer you to wear shoes to work incase a wall falls down and damages your pinkie incase you might sue. Bah.
Damien
Americans would take off thier shoes too if they could actually bend over.
And I personally am thankful for it.
And any hot woman who wears boots gets my eternal gratitude - and a good screw if she wants.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!