Number of people viewing this health forum...

[rei]

whenever i check the number of people viewing from the main forum page, this category always has the most people viewing it... i'm not saying it always does, only when i check the numbers.

i am wondering why this might be. the first idea that comes to mind is that people want to improve physical health more than mental/emotional/spiritual/financial health due to a desire for longevity. that in itself is fine, but i'm thinking they want to live longer because they are afraid of dying.

i think this could be like a Maslow's hierarchy thing as well, though that idea is not fully formed and doesn't seem as likely to me (since most people probably don't have regular internet access and dedication to conscious living if they don't have their basic physiological needs met - though i'm sure there are plenty of exceptions to this as well.)

thoughts on this hypothesis or potential reasons so many more people are interested in this category?

[rei]

ginkgo, your post somehow didn't end up here, and this response may be deleted too if yours was. psychology is a form of health as well. as i said, i care because i'm curious. your post felt defensive and hostile, did i touch a nerve? was not intentional if that's the case.

why do you care so much that i care? i like to figure out motivations, and i don't think we need to fear death. i won't apologize for either of those.

[Double]

This category always seem to have more than 100 viewers, yet it takes alot of time before a new thread even reaches 10 views. Its strange, what are all those viewers doing?

[rei]

idk Double... looking at the archives for ways to heal a specific complaint? or looking at the existing methods of prolonging death? your guess is as good as mine unless some of those viewers choose to speak up.

i do understand focusing on physical health may be easier because the physical is much denser and so easier to observe and all of that... not sure where i'm going with that point though.

[Rose of Cairo]

The first explanation that comes to my mind is that Steve did blog a lot about raw foods last year, and I guess that many people land in the forums because they found his blog while searching for raw food tips and advice. It would be logical that the readers attracted by the posts on raw food would predominantly check out the health forum first. Maybe they're all checking some old threads on raw food from last year. There were quite a lot of raw food threads here last year.

I don't know. Just an idea!

If I remember well, at some point, somewhere, Steve mentioned that the top google searches driving people to his blog were related to diet. Or something like that.

[LVGeneration]

I am one of the viewers that spend time on the health forum, and I've also noticed how many views it gets.
From my perspective, it's only natural to want to be healthy, if you think about it, could a diseased society really talk about PD without trying to get healthy first? From my part, it's not vanity, as I have no interest in reading about surgically enhanced breasts or Botox. I think we live in the most toxic environment human kind has seen, our food is poisoned, our water, air, soil, polluted, we have the right, even the obligation to research these matters. So it's not surprising to me that people on this forum are probably a bit more interested in the health threads, it's a big part of PD. If I think about an evolved society, compassionate, intelligent, in harmony, I can't imagine such a society as diseased, unhealthy. So focusing on the health aspect of our society is for me a good sign, not one that should worry us. BTW, does it worry you that so many people watch this thread?

[seeker5]

My first thoughts was that Steve spending a whole year talking about raw food and health last year helped bring attract a lot of health-conscious people to this forum. However, to be certain we'd have to compare the way the viewing of the different forums was before 2008 compared to now. I don't have access to that data so I can't tell for sure.

[Parthon]

I would say many reasons.

First: today's current society is very body image focussed, so most people think about their bodies on a regular basis. It's hard to turn on the TV or go to the shops without seeing advertisements and products for all kinds of 'healthy lifestyle choices'. Add onto that the constant weight consciousness that seems to be abundant and you have people who are primarily concerned with how they look which comes down to health and fitness.

Second: Most people when looking to change their life is with their own health and fitness. It's the most visible area to start in and the one with the most answers, supposedly. Even Steve has said that if you are confused as to where to start your personal development, start with the physical.

Thirdly: I doubt it's the fear of death. Most people who fear death though act in a state of denial when it comes to their actions. They can't face their mortality, so they can't get healthy because they can't face that they are unhealthy. They can't even acknowledge what they are doing is going to kill them. Given this, I would say that most people trying to be health are doing so because they want to feel alive, so they so the things that will make them feel most vital. It's not so much a case of preventing death, but about actually living life to the fullest. It's impossible to do that without being healthy. It's those that don't fear death, but still want to live as long as they can. We're all going to die someday, but living longer and healthier is better than dying sooner and weaker.

Fourth: Weight management and fitness are such vast subjects with so much conflicting information that most people who try and lose weight, or exercise regularly fail. After multiple failures, they'll turn to seeking advice on forums for example. Even reading many books don't help, they just give you more information to be confused about. Other subjects may be just as confusing, but they don't seem to be as prone to concrete failure.

Fifth: It could also be a hierarchy of needs thing too. Psychologically people seek physical wellbeing before they start going for the more abstract wellbeings higher on the list.

[seeker5]

Oh, Parthon's post reminded me of something. I did some research a few weeks ago to see where personal development money was spent. A huge chunk, like 45% of all personal development money spent in the US went to on health, weightloss and fitness. So, it would then seem natural that this forum gets the most views then.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I did some research a few weeks ago to see where personal development money was spent. A huge chunk, like 45% of all personal development money spent in the US went to on health, weightloss and fitness. So, it would then seem natural that this forum gets the most views then.

I think lots of people are simply looking for non-medical alternatives to good health, and the best place to find that information is from other people, especially those long-time posters on forums who are intelligent and thoughtful.

I've learned so much from my various health-oriented Yahoo groups, and on the Mothering.com health forums.

The other lurkers are probably BigPharma shills who are researching us and wondering how the hell to get us to spend our money with them again! Good luck with that. LOL.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by liamona

I think lots of people are simply looking for non-medical alternatives to good health, and the best place to find that information is from other people, especially those long-time posters on forums who are intelligent and thoughtful.

That may be true on this forum.

However, when I reviewed the marketing data, it seemed to indicate that most of that healthcare/weightloss/fitness money was spent relating to losing weight. For example, the company "Weigh Watchers" which holds weekly meetings for people to weight themselves and talk about their losing weight made $900 Million dollars in 2008 simply from meeting dues for their weekly meetings held worldwide. Over a million people on average attended each weekly meetings all over the world in 2008.

This is completely separated from their Weight Watchers branded products that they sell in stores (They only make $300Million or so from that).

Oh, and the website weightwatchers.com makes a lot of money too from people who subscribe to the online meetings that they pay for. If I remember correctly, it was like $60Million+ for 2008.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by seeker5

However, when I reviewed the marketing analysis, it seemed to indicate that most of that healthcare/weightloss/fitness money was spent relating to losing weight.

OMG, really?! That's sad. Well in that case, I'd like those weight-loss lurkers to know that having optimal blood levels of vitamin D have been associated with having normal weight. At least Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council said so in an interview.

Probably because people get a sense of well-being when they have enough, it prevents them from over-eating when they're tired, for instance.

Also, taking about 5,000 i.u. a day is equivalent to being exposed to 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight.

[rei]

thanks to all who have posted so far.

i'd like to add something else about weight loss... it's really a good idea to explore the issue of emotional eating as well - not from a place of judgment, but just to see if that is part of the reason a person is having trouble getting to a chosen size.

and it's not part of the issue for everyone of course, but it is sometimes involved and that's true for both men and women.

[ssandra]

I think it might be something as simple as that everybody has a body. Somebody who is interested in IM might not be interested in Social and Relationships, but they still have a body that they want to be healthy. So for all other forums. It is actually the one thing that everybody here has in comon...

[LVGeneration]

Originally Posted by liamona

OMG, really?! That's sad. Well in that case, I'd like those weight-loss lurkers to know that having optimal blood levels of vitamin D have been associated with having normal weight. At least Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council said so in an interview.

Probably because people get a sense of well-being when they have enough, it prevents them from over-eating when they're tired, for instance.

Also, taking about 5,000 i.u. a day is equivalent to being exposed to 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight.

How about those that want to gain weight? I've always been very skinny, and never could gain a pound. Even eating chocolate, ice cream, honey and walnuts everyday did not make me gain one pound. I finally gave up a few years ago and started to be happy in my skinny body. Even my doctor told me recently I need to eat more (but I do eat a lot!) because my intake of calories is at the minimum according to my weight. I'm 5'6 and weigh 112 pounds. Yeah, I'm not exactly WeightWatchers' targeted customer...

[Jthorn]

I stumbled on steve's blog looking on how to overcome procrastination. Yet the forum I check almost exclusively here is this one. The reason is that improving diet and exercise was largely what I needed, at least for a start.

[RagsToRiches]

Main reason: most of the other topics are baldy communicated and/or are hard to type about because much of their content is subjective and/or disputed.

Stuff on this forum is much more easily verifyable; therefore more reliable.