What if we could solve the obesity issue in America and get our communities back together outside? Enter our potential savior: Public, outdoor fitness equipment. Your kids can play on the swings while you get some exercise. This park offers the possibility of a) exercising for free b) at any time of day c) outdoors and d) no electricity is required.

My friends Julia and Alison are off traveling the world, and happened to stumble upon one such park in Turkey. Julia writes: "One evening in Istanbul, while strolling through a park, I spotted a playground. From afar I noted the typical jungle gym/swing set playground fare. But there was something else, too… a rather intriguing section of the playground that drew me closer. Upon further inspection I discovered that half of the playground houses outdoor exercise machines. Two twenty-something year old women in sweat-suits and sneakers worked out on a metal, two-person ski-machine. I tried the ab machine, then sat on a bench and observed as a middle-aged woman worked her way through an exercise routine while her young son scrambled around on the jungle gym. An older man came along and utilized the arm machines. A few school boys spotted for him, and then they hopped onto the stair master. " Doesn't this sound fantastic?

Why isn't this happening in the U.S.?

Any Social Entrepreneurs up for a project?

This is the website for the company that manufactures the equipment (in Turkish, but check out the photos).

And this is another company that makes the equipment in Australia.

via: landscapesarenot.net