September 18th, 2009 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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In a recent interview with Dr. Oz on Good Morning America, Dr. Oz told Diane Sawyer that he doesn’t think any of the proposed health care plans will work. Why? As Dr. Oz told Diane:
“What we haven’t done is get to the very root reality of the flaws we have in the health care system. True health care reform cannot happen in Washington. It has to happen in our kitchens, in our homes, in our communities. All health care is personal.”
Dr. Oz pointed out that the United States has twice the disease that is found in Europe. He believes that we have to find it impossible for Americans to not embrace good health. According to Dr. Oz:
“If I make your workplace conducive to walking at lunch, or working out at some time during the day, or I get people to use the stairs more by creating incentives to do such, then people will start doing it naturally.”
All you have to do is walk around any place USA compared to anywhere else around the globe to know this is true. Or, just note our friends from around the world who are visiting our country on vacation. Striking how much healthier our friends from other parts of the world appear – and act. They seem more vibrant, have more energy.
For these reasons, Dr. Oz isn’t hopeful any of the healthcare reform plans will work. He feels that until people start living more healthy, how the health care system is paid for is really moot. In his words: “The big debate right now in Washington is health care finance. It’s how are you going to pay for it. I don’t care which program we pick. I’ll tell you why. Because none of them are going to work.”
The sad truth is, he’s right. Americans have shown themselves to be very untrustworthy on the health care front with heeding doctors warnings about healthy living. Until that changes, until we find a way to make healthy living more appealing, how the system is paid for isn’t the path to reform.
After listening to President Obama last night, where does that leave us? No where useful. Sure…he talked a good talk about the insurance changes needed for the economics of the system to work but that has nothing at all to do with the true reforms needed in our system for not only personal health care but the actual ability to practice medicine, a topic the President barely covered last night.
I felt President Obama did an adequate job calming the waters of the misconceptions of the bill he is trying to put forward but let’s not mistaken that bill for the type of true health reform our country will need in the end. That type of reform, as Dr. Oz, pointed out, has to come from within each of us and the start of that may be as simple as looking in the mirror and accepting more individual responsibility for our own bodies and what happens to them.
What about savings, you ask? If we all care for our bodies better, we’ll all save by saving ourselves the time and expense of doctor’s visits, prescriptions, procedures, operations, and treatments of all kinds. Those savings will not only be in dollars to our bank account but years to our lives. Doesn’t sound too bad, huh?
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
September 15th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, News
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Rep. Steny Hoyer & Dr. Val
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer offered the keynote speech at the Youth of the Year awards for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Rep. Hoyer was himself a member of the club in his late teens, and credits it for turning his life around and setting him up for career success.
Rep. Hoyer reminded the audience about how critical it is for young Americans to have positive role models, a safe place to socialize, and adults who believe in them. The BGCA is also involved in reducing and preventing childhood obesity – a national crisis of great medical importance.
Carolina Correa & Dr. Val
Young Carolina Correa, the 2009 Northeast Region Youth of the Year, introduced herself to me at the event. She was bright and confident – and it was only during her speech to the crowd that I discovered that she had survived a triple family homicide in Colombia, moved to the US with her mom and ailing step dad, and worked as a child laborer to provide for her family and younger brother. Thanks to the Boys & Girls Clubs, she managed to overcome all her obstacles and find peace in the midst of her personal storm, achieving academic and athletic excellence in the process.
Dominique Dawes & Dr. Val
Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes is a strong supporter of the BGCA – and helps to inspire young members to get fit and pursue athletic careers.
Tomorrow I’ll be moderating the Be Healthy event on behalf of the BGCA. A panel of experts will be revealing promising new research results – demonstrating how BGCA’s Triple Play program has dramatically reduced obesity rates among those who enroll in the program.
With 70% of obese children becoming obese adults, and obesity itself costing at least 10% of all healthcare spending – any program that bends the obesity curve is welcome news. So stay tuned for more coverage on BGCA’s approach to helping kids get fit – and developing lifelong character in the process.
I myself am humbled to spend time with youth (like Carolina) of such character and perseverance. They are truly inspirational.
September 13th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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How expected. The CEO of whole foods says that government is not the solution to out of control health care expenditures. He says we are. The American people are responsible for out of control health care expenditures. He preaches a life of personal responsibility, of personal choice and actions that lead to health. And what does he get for it?
Pragmatists on all sides of the health care question (and probably every political question) believe that, on the whole, human nature does not change, and we’ve got to fight or not fight the health care war with the citizenry we’ve got, not the one we wish we had. Utopians like Mackey, on the other hand, believe that public-policy debates are only a middle step in the real solution to our problems, which is to change human nature. The solution to our health care woes, Mackey seems to believe, is for all of us to become like him—hyper-rational in evaluating our options, hyper-responsible in following through on them, and devoted to healthy living (that plant-based diet!).
Yes, that is actually the solution, to become more hyper-rational in evaluating our options, hyper-responsible in following through on them, and devoted to healthy living. The fact that this commentator makes a mockery of personal responsibility, instead choosing to support couch potato, Chetoo eating, Oprah watching smokers with for all their health care needs because, well, that’s just what humans do, is pathetic.
If you want someone else to pay for your health care, be prepared to play by their rules. And the rules have to change. Or there won’t be any money for anyone.
Ninety-nine trillion dollars says so. Making humans entitled to the side effects of bad habits because that’s just what humans do is a race to the bottom mentality. It’s at the core of the finance
quandary. Encourage bad habits by paying for them, and you get bad habits. Nobody can sustain that model of third party financing.
Would you insure a house who’s participants stated up front they would burn it down? Would you insure a car from a driver who said he would intentionally drive it into a brick wall? If not, why would you buy insurance for people who intentionally did things we know destroys them?
The CEO of Whole Foods should be hoisted onto the podium next to Obama for all the world to applaud. Obama should declare a God given right to live healthy (and he should quit smoking for good) and a God given right to pay more for your insurance if you don’t. It’s about personal responsibility. It’s not about handing you a plate of free insurance and saying go smoke ’em if you got ’em.
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
September 8th, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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For the first time I am starting to see teen literature including successful and positive plus-size characters, and all I can say is, “it is about time!” Finally, there are large teens who are perceived as heroes and successful people.
While our culture keeps getting larger and childhood obesity and eating disorder rates keep climbing, the fact that there were no large, fat, plump, curvy, plush, whatever term you prefer, main characters with positive self-esteem, was really ridiculous. But all that seems to be changing.
There are now books with titles like “Looks,” Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies,” “Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have,” “All About Vee,” and “This Book Isn’t Fat It’s Fabulous,” that include large teens in positive roles for large people. There are also blogs our there, like “Diary of a Fat Teenager,” for teens looking for support about being happy with there bodies and not spending their energy trying to be thin!
Some days I think there is hope!
This post, Plus Size Teens, Positive Role Models, And The Media, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
September 1st, 2009 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Nielson Wire yesterday posted a summary of a Scarborough Research study that may surprise you. According to the study, teens actually know what “being healthy” means. As reported by Nielson Wire, “92 percent percent of teens aged 13-17 say that health and a healthy lifestyle are important and when asked to give themselves a “health report card,” 76 percent of teens gave a grade of B- or higher.”
Also of interest in the report is where teens get their health information. As opposed to using social networking, as we’d expect them to do given how important a role it plays in their lives, teens turn to parents first and then true internet searches second.
(source: Nielson Wire as seen in Scarborough Research report)
I don’t doubt that on some level our teens know they need to live a healthier lifestyle and desire to do so. But, all we have to do is look around any of our towns to know the majority of our teens are not living they healthy life…not yet. So, why the discrepancy? What needs to happen to help teens live the healthy life they desire?
The discrepancy may have a few root causes:
1. Unhealthy families: many of these kids have parents with weight issues…the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree so they may not be getting the encouragement to “live healthy”.
2. Lack of time for true exercise – while many teens are in sports, sports participation isn’t the same as true exercise and many kids don’t burn the calories many parents think they are burning.
3. Not knowing how to be more healthy.
4. The hurried child syndrome where childhood has become so busy there isn’t time for proper meals.
5. Not understanding their own bodies unique nutritional needs. The needs of a growing teen are different than they were when they were younger kids, especially as growth slows down. Our teens need help learning to eat more like adults and to eat in moderation and with the concept of “balance”. This will only happen if we lead by example and also have open conversations with them about food. This will also only happen if we serve food they enjoy eating!
How can we help our teens live the healthy life they desire?
1. Talk to your teen and really listen! Find out how your teen wants to eat and exercise. A friendly world of warning…it may differ from your own views but if that is how your teen wants to be healthy, help your teen with that goal because the teen years are the start of the eating and exercise paths for life.
2. Lead by example. Look honestly at how you eat and exercise and do what you need to to be more healthy.
3. Slow down the pace of the family week so there is time for family dinner each and every day.
4. Get every one in the kitchen cooking. I’ll be writing a lot more on this as the year goes on but I can tell you that a family who cooks together, becomes more healthy together!
5. Have your teen help you with the weekly family menu planning.
6. Consider a gym if you can afford it…teens love working with trainers and joining classes. Most communities have programs that are very affordable as do the local YMCAs.
7. Don’t by the junk if your teen asks you not to…that’s like having cigarette packs on the table when someone is trying to quit smoking.
8. Keep healthy snacks around such as fruit, veggie sticks, granola bars.
9. Talk to your pediatrician and address any medical issues if there are any that may be interfering with becoming more active.
10. Be encouraging!
The teenage years are when our teens are supposed to spread their wings and amaze us. If good health is where their wings are trying to take them, then our job is to hop on that path and tackle any obstacle in their way.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
