Sending the Obama Administration My ‘two cents worth’.

A colleague of mine recently sent me a link to the Obama Administration’s website that is soliciting feedback from normal ‘Joe’ citizens like you and me. The site includes several different areas of focus including health care reform and health and physical activity-related links. The purpose being to encourage individuals to write in and provide ideas, insights, and feedback about how we, as citizens, can contribute in the improvement of specific programs and policies within our government. So, I figured what the heck. I’ve written my governor and congressman before, why not The Prez?

The easy way, for the purposes of this blog post, would’ve been to have copied my letter prior to sending it to The White House so that I could’ve simply copy and pasted it to this post. Ah yeah, that would’ve been the easy way. Perhaps it was the fact that I wrote my letter to B.O. at around midnight and was fading fast. I just didn’t think it through enough to make a copy before hitting the ‘send’ button. So, here I am, re-creating the ‘just’ of what I sent over and now anxiously awaiting his reply. (absolutely no sarcasm here)

Basically, I was compelled to write the Obama Administration to give my insights on what I believe we need to focus our efforts on as a society in decline as it relates to the improved health, fitness and overall wellness in this country. Something that needs some serious fixing. Health care reform is a whole other topic but it’s all interconnected and must include a close look at physical activity, dietary tendencies, and a host of other personal-health key elements if we’re to succeed at re-vamping a system that’s obviously not working and significantly change worrisome trends. Ultimately, fulfilling a vision for a healthier America will require engagement from our government and several other entities including employers, insurance providers, medical professionals, schools, and of course, you and me.

First off, and this is my strongest belief, we need to re-commit to placing a focus on teaching and shaping our generations to come. It must start with our children. And that includes a return to placing an emphasis on physical education and nutritional health curriculum in school as much as reading, writing, and arithmetic. It used to be this way when I was a kid and we have to get back to it. Now.

We’ve seen over the years a trend of eliminating physical education classes and nutrition classes or at least a change in making these courses ‘required’ courses. I believe these classes should be required classes and the emphasis should be placed on children of all ages. We know children are very impressionable and I contend that the sooner good habits can be established, the better. And, the more likely these good habits can and will be continued through adulthood.

To encourage participation and to create environments where children of all ages and abilities feel compelled to learn and excel, teachers and coaches need to be held to higher standards with more of an emphasis placed on higher success rates of participation. Recognition methods and incentives for outstanding efforts need to hold significant value and should reflect a ‘gold’ standard of performance. Point being, we need to emphasize and place importance on quality and success as it relates to ‘younger generation’ health & wellness. Success can be found in encouraging children of all ages and abilities to be involved in establishing good health habits, it merely takes focus and a desire to achieve.

Additionally, for far too long, our society has been operating under a 'disease management' model. We fall prey to lifestyles that promote and encourage 'fully saturated' unhealthy living practices, increase our health risk factors and wind up in the disease management vicious cycle. A cycle that demands an enormous amount of time, money, and emotional (stress) investment. And, one that can be extremely difficult to break out of. But, again, that's what feeds the monster and it's dependency on money and chronic conditions.

What if we took a step back and put the focus on 'prevention'? What if we invested more of this time and money in providing resources, education, and benefits programs focused on preventative measures? What if, instead of filling out prescription pad after prescription pad with 'pharmaceutical cures' and hence, padding the pockets of pharmaceutical companies, physicians filled out prescription pads with orders for physical activity and nutritional consulting? Consulting that could truly make a lifestyle behavior change and long-term difference. Because the reality is, unless the 'behavior' is addressed, the vicious cycle will continue to be fed.

A 'Healthier America' vision is a realistic one. It is. But, as I've penned in other posts, a fundamental foundation must be established first. I'm hoping the 'change' we've all been promised includes a sound overhaul in how physicians, employers, insurers, educators, and citizens promote and 'do' personal health.