Discipline

More news about how overweight/obese we are (do you need to read it to know this is a problem?). Here's news, people: The only sure-fire way to lose weight is through an increase in calorie burning and/or a decrease in calorie consuming, ideally in fulfilling not destructive ways. Hmm, that's probably not news either. Okay, how about this: Some people will never have a weight problem no matter what they eat or do (get over it), and some people who think they have no health problem, in fact do. Your wellness is about more than just how much you weigh. I like the public health campaign that asks people to "know your numbers". Do you know your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and BMI? And how would you hold up under a stress test?

I wonder, if you or I had this guy as our doctor, would we be healthier (weigh less and exercise more on average)? Certainly my health is much more about what I do than what my doctor does, but I appreciated Dr. Lerner's comment on the role of the doctor in a patient's struggles with health, however futile they might seem given what we know or believe now about willpower, genetics, lifestyle changes. "Somehow it still seems to me that part of a doctor’s job is to push patients to try harder." Amen.

I could say lots more about this. About individual vs. shared responsibilities. About the time and place for economies of scale. About the need for--and benefits of--people learning to establish and maintain meaningful, honest, constructive relationships with family, friends, coworkers, doctors and so on. About why people make obviously dumb (aka unhealthy, unhappy) choices, every stinkin day of our lives. About the key role of self awareness and self acceptance in all of this. But I won't. Not today, anyhow.

Here's a good quote (among many) from 19th century philosopher William James:

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

Amen to that, too.