Get active!

Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, a family physician and Texas Health Commissioner, said in November, 2003, in Austin, Texas, at a conference on patient education, “By 2040, the cost of medical care associated with obesity, superimposed on the cost of care to the elderly, is going to break the system. Super-sized burgers and super-sized fries are the new weapons of mass destruction.  We have more to fear from Big Macs than from anthrax.”  FPReport, January 2004.

Most of us spend at least one third of our day either in school or at work.  To build effective programs to deal with the problem of obesity and long term success, good eating practices and fitness must occur across all spheres of our lives.

Our dollars could be spent wisely on preventive medicine instead of construction of obscure museums, turn-of-the-century wooden bridges (as in one location in central Illinois), $500 toilets, and the like.

Building bicycle paths, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, ballparks (baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, football) and exercise facilities would be a boost to the economy, a boost to fitness and a smack across the face to obesity related diseases.  The sedentary life too many of us are dying with, rather than living with, needs to be corrected now. Tomorrow is too late.

Unsurprisingly, a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Sallis et al; 15:379-397, 2000) reported a correspondence between the location of parks and recreational facilities and an increased level of physical activity among local residents.

It is also interesting to note, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine (Anderson et al; 1998), found an increased use of stairs in public places when signs were placed to encourage their use.  In 1980, another researcher, Dr. K. D. Brown reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry, that when signs were taken down, stair use diminished until the signs were replaced.  A little subtle prodding works very nicely for many of us.  Maybe you can work with your local governments to achieve some simple, inexpensive signs to guide your fellow Americans into better living.  When you do, we will place your name on this web site and praise you and your efforts.  Building a new bike path will likely do us more good than another highway.  Let’s bike to work, walk to work, and skip to school.  The era of the school bus is another contribution to obesity among children in the guise that it is safer.  I am sure our seniors, parents and the retired can keep an eye on our children when they walk a mile or two and back each day from school.  We could develop a cadre of individuals dedicated to the elimination of the school bus and the resumption of fitness and exercise among our children.  Like the Peace Corps, maybe we need The Fitness Corps?

For years, some European countries have taken the lead by building activity areas available to their citizens to improve or maintain fitness.

A. Mary Walborn, M.D., a well-respected internal medicine physician on Cleveland’s West Side has experienced this a “Recently on a trip through Scandinavia, I was impressed with the lack of fat people.  The city of Copenhagen has wide bicycle paths, which are greater than twice the width of American bike paths.  There is virtually an army of Danes on bikes.  Men dressed in suits, women in high heels, even older people with grocery bags, as well as young people in attire from bikinis to sports uniforms, travel the city on bicycles.  Actually, Copenhagen has “free bikes” for anyone to use.  People using public transportation need to be careful exiting as bicycles have the right of way. You can easily be hit by a flock of 10 speed bicyclists going very fast.”

Much of Norway, Sweden, and Finland have even installed special traffic lights for bicycles.  Their commitment to outdoor activities has led to a culture of Nordic well-being.  Mr. President, can you help us?

Dr. Philip

His blogs are his own opinions and do not reflect those of his current and past employers.