As I sat at my favorite local restaurant last night (Tonic) watching game seven of the Capitals vs. Bruins series (Way to Go Caps!), I was speaking with my dear friend and department chair Dr. Loretta DiPietro. I asked her what I should blog about this week. She immediately offered her perspective and said, write about Jimmy Fallon and Obama's Slow Jam. Perplexed I said, "Huh?" She briefly explained to me the premise of the song: congress is looking to increase interest rates on student loans to decrease the national deficit and Obama is not buying it.
Interested in the topic, I replied, "Well, what does this have to do with fitness?" And she replied, "Kel, you know, it is all relative." And the reality of it is, it really is all relative. Education is key! Key to proper nutrition, key to time management, key to exercise. There are many studies that show the discrepancy in health is similar to the discrepancy in education. So this post might not be as straight forward as my usual ones: a workout, a recipe, or a tip of the week, but it is a little deeper and thought provoking.
So take a minute and watch the slow jam! Please, let me know your thoughts! How does education relate to fitness? How does this video speak to you? Regardless of your political affiliation, education is important for us all :)!
Alright, I might be repeating myself but I have to get this out. One of my first posts I wrote I mentioned that there are 1,440 minutes in a day. And I challenged you to use 30 minutes for yourself, even better to use them for exercise. But the reality is Americans use 19 minutes for physical activity and exercise... if that. My frustration doesn't stem from 19 minutes, my frustration goes a lot deeper than this. It is the very people who make health recommendations that aren't making time for exercise. Now, don't get me wrong, I know there are health care practitioners out there that DO have balance and MAKE time for physical activity. But realistically, the majority don't.
It started a few weeks ago when I was asked by my adviser, Dr. Todd Miller, to speak to the third year medical students at The George Washington University on the importance of exercise and physical activity. Oh the irony behind this! Just three years ago, I was grudgingly filling out medical school applications with hopes of not going. I would say to my dad, "I do not want to be a fat doctor!" So here it is three years later and I am lecturing to the doctors of tomorrow.
I did a little research of my own before presenting and found that as of 2010 the working American exercises an average of 19 minutes a day, see a more thorough break down by checking out the American Bureau of Labor.
Action shot ... :)
I then asked the students if they exercised on a regular basis, even if it was just 19 minutes, and approximately 10% of the 90 students I spoke with that afternoon raised their hands! I was shocked, but not really I guess. But let's step back a minute. Here I was, presenting to the Third Year medical students at THE George Washington University, located in the heart of the nation's capital, a place where policy is created, and WE cannot even find 19 minutes a day? Really? Is this a joke? Ashton Kutcher, where were you? I was waiting for him to yell Punked, but that never happened.
It's the sad reality of the world we live in today. The people that are supposed to be leading us in "healthcare" are not leading by action. So what do you do? Do it yourself. Supporting my beliefs, and inspiring my voice, is Dr. Loretta DiPietro, a pioneer for the field of physical activity in Public Health. I will leave you with a clip from her TEDex talk that I attended this past week. Warning their is explicit content, but like Loretta says, if you can't swear, you don't belong in public health.
In closing, take the stairs and take a stand! Create your own health and be the change! Every little bit counts. And remember, you can't change what you did, but you can change what you do!
