Fixing America’s Obesity Problem with The Internet

I’m not one to post Facebook screenshots as content, but I couldn’t pass this one up as it’s just too good of an idea to not discuss. Apparently 25,410 other people agree with me as well.

You’ve read it, anyone with technical knowledge think this could be built as an experiment? I feel like the first part would be easy, you’d just have to hook up a router or modem to the treadmill as a power source. Would the energy be enough to power it? I’m sure there could be a system in place where that could be the case.

The last part, faster downloads for faster running, would probably be quite a bit harder, but I guarantee there’s someone out there who could build it. But to get to my max speed of 1MB/s? I bet I’d have to be biking on the treadmill at that point. I’m not going to full on sprint for four hours to get the latest season of Mad Men.

Similar Posts

12 Comments

  1. I’m sure you could adjust the settings to your own internet capacity. Sure, you would have to be sprinting to max out your connection, but each person’s sprint speed is different.

    You’re thinking too mechanically with how to build it. You can easily write some code that alters the internet speed based on the RPM of the treadmill, so all you’d have to do is plug the treadmill into the computer. It’s the same as when I had to hook up physics experimentation equipment to a computer for a class. You adjust some settings, get them to recognize each other, and the machines work together flawlessly.

  2. I think a better idea would be to connect the treadmill or other workout device to a sort of credit machine where working out gives you internet credits for use at a later time.

    One credit = a certain amount of time on the internet and so on. The credits can expire after a week or something so that there’s no point to storing them up.

    I don’t think that the “exercise harder for more speed” idea is a very good one. That’s just a great way to hurt yourself and not get good exercise.

  3. you want an idea here’s one. Obese people shouldn’t have handicap parking tags but should have designated parking spots in the back of the parking lot.

  4. I love it when people take an idea that is obviously not serious, like an internet treadmill, and act as if the person is retarded for saying that. You all must have been soooo much fun as children…

  5. Well I was watching a show the other day called Sunday morning, and they do something similar to the idea. When working all desks at their company are designed so that people who are working on the computer must either be standing or walking on a treadmill. But they have not comeup with the electirc powered computer yet.

  6. I play first person shooters on a recumbent bike and an elliptical on days I can’t ride outside and need some cardio… I’ve thought a shooter should have a shield that requires pedaling or something to charge. How does the Wii measure your physical age or whatever? We clearly have the tech.

  7. Hello,

    I am sure that in Make magazine they had the TV connected to a bike machine and if the RPM went lower than a set amount (average RPM) you would get a warning…and 3 warnings later then TV would turn off.

  8. This is a direct quote from Burnie Burns of RoosterTeeth, the creators of Red Vs. Blue. He said this on one of their podcasts from 2011.

  9. @Tingo, ever hear of the concept of self-responsibility? Do you need the gov to hold your hand for everything? I’d draw a parallel to a number of other “regulations” on one or two extremely hot-button topics but I’d rather not derail this conversation
    @Wazoo, why can’t they be serious? It’s a decent concept. I had a good treadmil desk setup going until the ex-wife stole ma dang treadmil
    @Carl, agreed.
    @Ender, super agree. But then again you’d be infringing on the liberties of Obease-Americans. (cultural subgroup not describing our country as a whole) and they’d whine a lot. But it goes back to my argument against Tingo. You could get away with half of that. The handicap passes. Being a fat-ass ain’t a handicap (medically induced condition) for most of em. For most of them their medical issues come FROM being a lardo.

    And before anyone gets all upity with me for harsh language towards the gravitationally inclined; I was a fat-ass in High School (huge gut and all), little bit of determination and tough-love fixed that. I know plenty of people who made the concious decision to fix their own lives. And I’m not talking about your beer-gut types. I’m talking about the medically flagged obease.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.