Posted on 07/26/2010 8:54:04 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
In Louisiana, where the humidity is as thick as the gumbo, people prefer to take it slow. Hunting, fishing, and outdoor sporting activity may have earned Louisiana the nickname "Sportsman's Paradise," but new data indicate that the more popular pastimes are sleeping, goofing off, and watching television.
In a new ranking by Businessweek.com based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Louisiana claims the top spot as the country's laziest state. To be clear, by "lazy" we do not mean lacking work ethic or engagement. Rather, it is a measure of leisure time spent doing sedentary activities compared with activities that require more physical effort, such as exercising and even working. Mississippi and Arkansas came in second and third, and while states in the south and southeast are represented heavily in the list, such East Coast states as Delaware and New York placed in the top 20.
Some cite the climate, others the lifestyle, infrastructure, or health education in the area. Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., notes that Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas are in the Lower Mississippi Delta region, which is "very poor, has poor medical service, and is hot, humid, and has few opportunities for physical activity," he says. Obesity, physical activity, and nutrition — some of the state's biggest issues — are the center's priority research areas.
Sleep, sit, chat, watch
Businessweek.com's ranking is based on five years (2004-08) of data from the BLS American Time Use Survey, which averages the time spent doing various activities each day across the entire population age 15 and older, including individuals who did not do the activity at all.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
These factors were weighed against other metrics, such as average time spent exercising and playing sports, time spent working, and the state's median age. The survey started only in 2003, so no data exist to show how patterns might have changed over time.
While residents in developed areas such as New Orleans, a compact city with sidewalks, gyms, and outdoor events, have opportunities to be active, Louisianans in the rest of the state spend more time at sedentary activities than the average American. According to BLS data, for example, they sleep an average 8 hours and 44 minutes per day, watch an average 3 hours and 5 minutes of television, socialize for 54 minutes, and relax for 29 minutes. The average time spent working among all Louisianans — 2 hours, 41 minutes — is shorter than in all other states, according to the BLS data.
The average for the U.S. population: 8 hours, 35 minutes sleeping; 2 hours, 38 minutes watching television; 44 minutes socializing; 18 minutes relaxing; and 3 hours, 23 minutes working. Looked at another way, Louisianans over the course of a year spend on average 3,285 more minutes sleeping and 9,855 more minutes watching television than the national average.
In North Dakota, the least inactive state, people sleep 8 hours, 4 minutes; watch 2 hours, 19 minutes of television; socialize for 40 minutes; and relax for 22 minutes. The average time North Dakotans spend working is just over 5 hours.
The average time North Dakotans spend shoveling snow is just over 5 hours.
An article that woulda got someones nuts cut off if published on a conservative site.
We clean our guns while kicking back and watching tv.
This confirms a hunch of mine. As the disaster of katrina unfolded, I was learning more and more about people in the pelican state. Even before katrina I had researched property values, property taxes, cost of living, unemployment, etc. What I found was that louisiana was a sort of utopia(disregarding crime and poverty). If you could protect yourself from the crime, it would be a slackers’ paradise. Cost of living unbelievably low and everyone chronically underemployed. or unemployed.
Long live the deep south.
Maybe, but if you’re looking at which state does all that stuff - goofing off, surfing the net (for p0rn), playing games, socializing, etc WHILE ON THE STATE PAYROLL - - then I say Illinois wins.
Is that annual or per storm?
If you have a good job, you can live like a king in Louisiana.
Tabasco is not only great on meat and vegetables, but it is also good for the heart and sinuses. I take two teaspoons a day during the cold season and average about one sick day a year or less as a result.
What is it with all these surveys comparing various states and cities to each other? Why don’t these busybodies go find a productive use of their time? I get so irritated every time our local newspaper announces that the Dingbat Group has determined that our state is 49th in “x”. Who cares?
LOL, tell that to the oilfield workers, shipyard workers, cane farmers and see what it will get you in a few bars I know ;^)
Old company I worked for had lots of employees from the New Orleans area. Man could they party wild-—however they got their work done and they did their work well in easy breezy manner. I love Cajuns , the food and Zydeco music too—makes me happy!
When asked Shawanda was asked how she felt about bicycle riding, she replied, "Laaaazee"
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