LogFAQs > #978601573

I'd argue that literally the only people who consider "fitness" to be a status symbol are people who've wasted way too much of their lives focused on fitness.

I don't think the average person gives a shit compared to all the actual status symbols people aspire to and admire.

Though from your post, I'm not sure you know what a "status symbol" actually is in the first place.



ItIsSoOver posted...

You can't buy a fit body

You absolutely can.

It's one of the reasons why you can see incredible improvements in physique in cases where an actor (who can afford a personal chef, a personal trainer, and who have a direct financial interest in maintaining a physique) is tapped for a specific movie that requires a specific body type (see also Chris Pratt, Christian Bale, etc). It's almost entirely fueled by money.

Money gives incredible advantages for fitness, by both allowing for positive improvements (having the money to afford high-level training, facilities, supplements, food, and food prep) as well as eliminating negative impediments (not working full-time to support yourself allows for more time to exercise). Not to mention even more indirect effects (people who can afford better health care are generally less likely to suffer setbacks that impede exercise, people with less financial stress will be healthier in general, etc).

You can't buy a better body in the sense that you can just pay and have someone drop a new body off for you (though if the transhumanists get their way, that might be possible eventually), but your level of wealth absolutely plays a huge role in your ability to maintain a healthy physique and how much effort you have to put into it.

It's one of the things a lot of people complain about when it comes to the Olympics - American athletes tend to train with state of the art tech and perfect nutritional plans to maximize their potential, but poorer nations that can't afford those things are inherently fighting a much worse uphill battle just to be on parity. The playing field is anything but level (even if poorer nations can occasionally produce competitive paragons).