The other part of that comment:  Watching TV and spending time on the computer are actually both more productive than spending time at the gym. They both engage the mind to a greater degree and potentially contain new information.  I do my best thinking when pacing around between sets. It's probably a mix between increased blood flow to the brain and a lack of distractions. If you have a fat and unhealthy body, you're likely to die sooner anyway and the greatest minds have no value as a corpse.  Building the brain at least carries the potential for improving how you do something useful.  You can stop "clicking on heads" for a couple hours a week and do both. If we're talking about useful people, I wonder how much TV Ben Krasnow watches... and he's not fat. (I assume the OP is fat and defending immobility with their anti-gym fatlogic.)  limited capacity on sensing/controlling increasingly large and fast nervous system required to...   I can barely digest this word salad... I'm unsure if allowing certain parts of your brain to atrophy increases functionality in other areas much, but I'd rather not be Stephen Hawking to find out. Vision is a distraction to thought, cut out your eyes! Penis is a distraction too... ಠ_ಠ No intelligent person would allow themselves to become fat, there just isn't any value in it in the modern world. It doesn't have any benefit outside some extreme situation of civilization collapse or prolonged periods of food shortage where everybody is starving. It could happen, but... I'd fuckin' eat you. In these kinds of situations, I think having a fit body would be just as useful in surviving or rebuilding the world if necessary. (What if it's zombies? Fatties make great zombie-bait.)