Your Press
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email »
You can e-mail your letters to letters@thepress.co.uk
We welcome letters on all topics but please keep them to 300 words at most; shorter letters are most likely to be included.
The editor reserves the right to edit letters.
If you wish the letter to appear in The Press you must include your full postal address and a daytime telephone number.
How cycling kept teens slim
11:18am Wednesday 9th January 2008
Comments (1)NORMALLY I wouldn't dare contradict the great Julian Cole, but my New Year resolution is to be more assertive, and, after all, a cat can look at a king so here goes.
In his column about junk food, (The Press, January 3), he said teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s were not forced with endless places to buy fat-sodden foods - ie burger bars and sandwich chains, which meant most of them kept slim.
The reason teenagers kept slim, Mr Cole, was because everyone in those days walked or biked everywhere (York was known as the cycling city).
Leisure time was spent pursuing active sports, and workplaces were hives of activity, not just buildings where you sat for eight hours a day in front of a computer.
As for there being no "fat-sodden" foods, fish and chips were the staple diet in most households, and kids could easily afford a bag of chips with scraps, burning off any calories they'd consumed as they walked home.
I, of course, have consumed far too many calories over Christmas, and unfortunately not burned them off, as I have been glued to my chair reading Julian Cole's excellent novel, The Amateur Historian, a rattling good read and highly recommended - and if that doesn't get me the award for creep of the week, I don't know what will.
Happy New Year to all.
Cynthia Glasby, Southfield Road, Strensall,York.
In this section
- Safety moves to end the electric bike hassle
- Hands-on cycling tuition?
- Rights of way: Westminster Road, York
- Pride of Place in St Leonard’s Place, York
- Needs of families: derelict flats in York
- Be fair in this tale of two Georges - Hudson and Leeman
- York MP Hugh Bayley seeks views on future of East Coast rail service
- It’s not up to us to "police" the world
- Britain should leave Afghanistan
- Two cups of coffee a day
Sponsored Links
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
kris squires, us says...
3:18pm Wed 9 Jan 08
HOWEVER, we walked everywhere in all kinds of weather. When my sister came to visit me from America she complained loudly about "needing a cab once in awhile" I thought she was quite crazy until she sat me down and mapped out my typical day. I had no idea until then, but my usual day consisted of between 8-10 miles of walking. In addition i was into athletics so usually ran a few miles a day as well, however everyone i knew walked about the same distance everyday as i did. Occasionally we would skip short train or bus rides because we had run out of money, maybe teenagers today will think about that. In order to pay for our wimpy burger we had to skip the bus & walk.