Hello, my name is Cathy and I’m addicted to exercise. That may as well have been the introduction
for those of us who attended the launch of Dr. Jordan Metzl’s latest book, The
Exercise Cure. As I scanned the room
and spoke with those in line for the book signing, Dr. Metzl is most likely
preaching to the choir with this crowd.
I also ran into my good friend Will, who was my first inspiration to
contemplate doing a triathlon. “Boy, you
really got hooked!” he exclaimed as I rattled off this years’ races.
I’m not only hooked on exercise, but these days I devour
reading anything about its benefits so I frequently consume the Phys Ed column
in the NY Times (I guess there was a reason why Phys Ed teacher was on my 6th
grade list of “what I want to do when I grow up”). The Exercise Cure gives great evidence
on the need for people to exercise. I
had to have this book!
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| Getting my signed copy at the book launch |
The book cites many of the clinical studies I’ve been
reading about the last few years such as:
- Exercise lengthens life – just 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week can increase your life expectancy by 3.5 years (2012 study in the journal PLOS Medicine)
- Low fitness is the single strongest predictor of death – highly fit 80 year olds are less likely to die than unfit 60 year olds. (Dr. Steven Blair, University of South Carolina Arnold School for Public Health)
- Being fit is key to work performance – and fit people out-earn their peers
The Exercise Cure provides various exercises that
address specific health issues. A few
days after the book launch, my normally energetic colleague was clearly in pain
from a back issue. “I have just the book
for you!” I proclaimed. I went on to
tell her how 5 years ago my husband was experiencing even worse symptoms. The doctor told him there was a 70% chance he
would need surgery. Our physical
therapist brother-in-law confirmed the chances – but pointed him to some
exercises that gave him hope for curing his ailment with exercise. He diligently followed the exercises and
overcame the issue. Anecdotally, I’ve
heard stories of people who underwent the surgery and found themselves in worse
or no better shape than before the surgery.
As the book points out, in the US, we spend 17% of our GDP on healthcare
to the tune of $8,300 and yet we only rank 28th in the world for
life expectancy.
If the evidence is there, why don’t people exercise more and
what can we do about it? In my
professional life, we study a lot about human behaviors related to health. It often comes down to habits – both good and
bad. Everyone knows cigarettes are bad
for you, many desire to quit, but knowledge and desire are not enough for many
to kick the habit.
If you are reading this blog, chances are I’m also preaching
to the choir. And chances are, if you
are in “my choir”, you are middle aged like me.
So here’s my idea – we fitness prone, middle aged folks need to rally
the rest of the population.
We are the sandwich generation who
can influence both the younger and older generations (ever notice how families
fit levels are clearly mirrored? Make it
fun – e.g. see my “natural StairMaster” Paris workout which will save you money
and time seeing the Eiffel Tower).
We are the bosses who can encourage
healthy habits and sponsor active team outings (our company sponsors a regular
healthy lunch, participation in events like 10K and 5K walks/runs, gym
memberships, and a WebMD health and wellness program).
We are the healthcare
professionals who can influence our patients (read The Exercise Cure for
the one simple test he recommends all physicians do).
We are government officials and
teachers who are impacting this country’s fitness levels (I can point to the government
sponsored Presidential Physical Fitness tests as a source of my early
enthusiasm – while I wasn’t necessarily good at all of the gym team sports, I
still have a fond memory of my gym teacher challenging one of the jocks to beat
my record breaking chin hang, which he could not do!).
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| Remember these patches? I wore mine proudly! |
Make it your New Years’ Resolution not just to get yourself
healthy, but those around you!
P.S. Thanks Will for that early inspiration! While I’ve always been an active person,
triathlon training provides a whole new level of commitment and here I am, 3
years later and still committed with even better habits! And…isn’t it interesting to see the web of
influence of those I’ve influenced who are now influencing others.
Dr. Metzl is my sports medicine physician. His first book, The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies, that I wrote about made me a successful patient – but perhaps not a successful “customer” since I’ve since been able to stay out of his office!
