© Jacquelyn Johnston, M.Ed.
Ever attended a panel discussion? You get a panel of experts sitting in a row, and the audience asks them questions. I attend a number of these each year, and stay to the end when I think the experts have some good research to back up their opinions. They’re supposed to be “Walk-the-Talk” sessions; so—when you want to know how to solve the financial crisis you get the people who have a track record of sound investments to sit on a panel. When you want to know the difference between a very good dish and a prizewinning one, you listen to the epicures who adjudicate on the Food Channel; they’ve tasted every cuisine round the globe, they’ve made it themselves, and they can tell within a toothpick’s breadth which dish reigns supreme. And when you want to know what the next President should do in the first 100 days you get a panel of former Secretaries of State to answer questions on the intricacies of global diplomacy. You get my drift.
So…I was wondering, when you want to know how to improve the health of the community, wouldn’t you get healthy-looking people who know something about the workings of the human body to speak, then field questions? People who work in the health care professions come to mind, somehow.
I attend a number of such gatherings, and find it quite interesting to observe that on such panels, assembled to promote the health of diabetics, seniors, heart and stroke, cancer and liver disease survivors, for example, members of the panel frequently have rather impressive waistlines. Now, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that, if the waistline measures more than half your height, you’re in trouble, courting all the problems mentioned above. Hmmm…
In a previous blog I mentioned something about people-watching in the mall. Have you ever done that in a hospital? I was at a large hospital downtown, waiting for my Mom to be called for an X-Ray, when I saw a substantial number of the staff expertly going about their daily tasks. Kind, dedicated professionals, too many of whom were carrying around more weight than their frames were made for. How could they weather the stress of their jobs AND carry all that extra weight? What was life going to be like for them five, ten years down the road when diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver the like overtook them? How would they care for those with similar afflictions? Would they have to drop out of the precious workforce? Didn’t they know what was in store?
That’s the point. Even those who know are often carrying around substantial amounts of extra weight. Those who know are all too often not making the changes needed to stay in optimal health. Those who know are, unwittingly, walking panels. They are teaching us something by their appearance. Is that what we are supposed to learn?
They are living proof that knowing does not necessarily ignite change. Everyone who realizes that some lifestyle changes need to be made needs the support and the laser-focused attention that keeps us on track. This is what a health coach does for you, one on one, till you reach your chosen destination. If this makes sense, contact me at www.LifestyleForLongevity.com I’ll be glad to lend a hand.
Jacquelyn Johnston M.Ed.
http://www.lifestyleforlongevity.com/
Solutions and Suppport for Optimal Health
Whether you need to lose those pesky 20 pounds,
work on prevention or regain health, I can help.
Call me. 604.276.8673
September 22, 2008
September 17, 2008
People-watching at the Mall
© Jacquelyn Johnston, M.Ed.
Been in a shopping mall recently? Have you ever done any people-watching? While at a recent convention I was sitting in the lobby of a large hotel, waiting for the rest of my group to appear. Thousands of participants were exiting from a session in the arena. I started counting the number of people with potential health threats. I mean health threats that could have landed them in hospital any time. 1-2-9-17-24-37-52…
In 5 minutes I had counted 73. Had I stayed longer, the number would have gone up exponentially, as I had seen many of them seated opposite my bleachers in the arena. I had also seen what they had purchased for breakfast, then lunch, throughout the day. Didn’t they know?
Were they aware? The numbers with midriffs that would have prevented them from seeing their feet were astounding. They had midriffs that screamed “Do Something Now!”
Do you know that the middle of the body is the most dangerous part in which to harbor fat? These people were contributors to the fearsome statistics on Diabesity…yes, Diabesity, the second-ranking epidemic in the world, next only to AIDS.
Diabesity? Yes, the combination of obesity and its evil twin, -Diabesity. For the past quarter-century it has been the scourge of North America, but it is now a worldwide concern. And how did I come to the conclusion that the people I was watching had potential health threats? Answer: they had mid-section obesity. Enough of it to make walking difficult, and panting evident. Some of them sat don close by. They had only walked as far as the nearest kiosk to buy a coffee. They sat down laboriously, as if they had just run a mile with a sack of potatoes on their back.
This is a national epidemic in many of the G8 countries. Many of them must have had pre-diabetes, and those who were middle-aged could well have graduated to full-blown diabetes. And the weight wasn’t helping. With the number of people showing signs of pancreatic stress, it looked as if it was contagious. But no, you cannot catch diabetes from anyone else. You can’t catch obesity either. It’s something that creeps up on us when we’re not looking-- easily, sneakily. All of them could have improved their condition immediately by dropping those blue, pink and orange super-sized pseudo-beverages straight into the garbage, where they belonged.
In 5 years some of them could be losing their eyesight. In 5-10 years they could be facing amputation. I wish they had contacted me, at http://www.lose20poundsnow.com/
Here's to your optimal health!
Jacquelyn
Been in a shopping mall recently? Have you ever done any people-watching? While at a recent convention I was sitting in the lobby of a large hotel, waiting for the rest of my group to appear. Thousands of participants were exiting from a session in the arena. I started counting the number of people with potential health threats. I mean health threats that could have landed them in hospital any time. 1-2-9-17-24-37-52…
In 5 minutes I had counted 73. Had I stayed longer, the number would have gone up exponentially, as I had seen many of them seated opposite my bleachers in the arena. I had also seen what they had purchased for breakfast, then lunch, throughout the day. Didn’t they know?
Were they aware? The numbers with midriffs that would have prevented them from seeing their feet were astounding. They had midriffs that screamed “Do Something Now!”
Do you know that the middle of the body is the most dangerous part in which to harbor fat? These people were contributors to the fearsome statistics on Diabesity…yes, Diabesity, the second-ranking epidemic in the world, next only to AIDS.
Diabesity? Yes, the combination of obesity and its evil twin, -Diabesity. For the past quarter-century it has been the scourge of North America, but it is now a worldwide concern. And how did I come to the conclusion that the people I was watching had potential health threats? Answer: they had mid-section obesity. Enough of it to make walking difficult, and panting evident. Some of them sat don close by. They had only walked as far as the nearest kiosk to buy a coffee. They sat down laboriously, as if they had just run a mile with a sack of potatoes on their back.
This is a national epidemic in many of the G8 countries. Many of them must have had pre-diabetes, and those who were middle-aged could well have graduated to full-blown diabetes. And the weight wasn’t helping. With the number of people showing signs of pancreatic stress, it looked as if it was contagious. But no, you cannot catch diabetes from anyone else. You can’t catch obesity either. It’s something that creeps up on us when we’re not looking-- easily, sneakily. All of them could have improved their condition immediately by dropping those blue, pink and orange super-sized pseudo-beverages straight into the garbage, where they belonged.
In 5 years some of them could be losing their eyesight. In 5-10 years they could be facing amputation. I wish they had contacted me, at http://www.lose20poundsnow.com/
Here's to your optimal health!
Jacquelyn
Jacquelyn Johnston M.Ed.
Professional Health Coach and Educator
www.LifestyleForLongevity.com
Solutions and support for optimal health:
Whether you need to lose those pesky 20 pounds,
work on prevention or regain health, I can help.
Call me. 604.276.8673
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