100% agree. You need to cook your food. You need to exert energy to move (walk, run, or cycle instead of car.) You need to communicate face-to-face, instead of with a screen. Swimming is such a great feeling that I've never seen someone worry about an email while doing it.
If you drive your car to a desk job where you sit in a zoom meeting all day and then stuff your face with food you bought, you're going to crash and burn. If your "hobbies" involve "Netflix", you've got a problem.
Take for example a diet that causes gut problems, which then causes anxiety to manifest physically, which result in anti-depressant medication, which you guessed it, cause gut problems.
However, when a raise in mental-health issues correlate with a an inequality crisis, de-funding of mental health services, and lowering of national food standards ( UK, Brexit, Austerity ), maybe it's not so much that we can't sit in offices, but rather balance has simply been stripped for profit.
I feel like inequality is often used as a sort of scape goat in topics like this. The reason is that though we obviously have inequality that's in raw numbers substantially greater than ever before, it's also a very different form than in the past. In the past being poor meant you were probably living in makeshift housing, had no 'privileges' like plumbing or clean water, and could easily slip into genuine starvation if things got even slightly worse.
In modern times, obesity is one of the biggest health issues among the poor. The poor of times past would think we're living in a utopia. And in terms of "stuff" we probably are, but it doesn't feel like a utopia because it obviously isn't. Current times are probably the best evidence imaginable that all of the things we relatively ignore in terms of quality of life (family, nature, philosophy/purpose, and so on) are, at the minimum, no less important than the things we obsess over like income, education, and sexuality.
I understand your perspective, but I believe it's important to recognize the complex role inequality plays in modern society.
While it's true that overall living conditions have improved, with more access to amenities like plumbing and clean water, this doesn't mean inequality has lost its relevance. Inequality still has a profound impact on mental health, social cohesion, and overall well-being.
Many people in developed countries live in makeshift housing without basic necessities like electricity, plumbing, and clean water. This indicates that not everyone benefits equally from societal advancements, and calling these amenities "privileges" overlooks their fundamental importance.
Furthermore, while obesity is indeed a prevalent issue among the poor today, it often results from limited access to healthy food options, which is another manifestation of inequality. You also mentioned that inequality contributes to obesity, so dismissing it as a scapegoat contradicts this observation.
The poor of the past might view our access to "stuff" as utopian, but they wouldn't likely see the lives of today's poor in the same light. Improved material conditions don't necessarily translate to improved quality of life, especially when disparities in wealth and opportunity persist. Quality of life involves more than just material wealth; it encompasses family, community, purpose, and other non-material aspects. Inequality affects all these dimensions, making it a crucial issue to address.
Merely 20 minutes ago a colleague was complaining to me that his smart watch popped up a distressing notification while he was swimming. I was telling him to turn off all notifications and toss that watch.
If you drive your car to a desk job where you sit in a zoom meeting all day and then stuff your face with food you bought, you're going to crash and burn. If your "hobbies" involve "Netflix", you've got a problem.