The Four Mile Donut

"Consider the Four Mile Donut. If we were to walk as fast as we could for an hour, we’d cover a breathless, heart pounding 3-4 miles. If we then decided to celebrate our workout with coffee and a donut, we would eat more calories in a minute than we burned off in an hour."

The above quote comes from Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating. No one here at the Hotel has read it yet, but we will be.

Number One, With A Bullet

At left is a graphic representation of the percentage of Americans over age 15 with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. According to our government - and to common sense if you saw such a person - a BMI of 30 or more constitutes obesity, a condition with a raft of chronic illnesses (diabetes, heart disease and more) close behind.

Now click here to see how we compare with 26 other countries who are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But wait, these graphics are based on numbers compiled at the end of 2003. According to the CDC's just-released Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), the proportion of Americans with a BMI greater than 30 grew by 24 percent. The same report projects a 25% - 100% increase in health care costs for individuals with BMI greater than 30.

Was there ever a time when 31% of our population over age 15 smoked two packs a day? We demonized tobacco because it needlessly took the lives of people who didn't necessarily understand the risks, because social mores and values were inappropriately supportive of tobacco use and because individuals needed help to tackle their addictions. And I'm not even sure it ever got as out-of-hand as the situation with obesity has become.

We certainly did something as a nation about smoking. It took time and energy, but we did accomplish a great deal. And those who choose to smoke still can, in most cases without it negatively impacting those who choose differently.

It's past time to wake up, step up and move forward on addressing the obesity situation.

Health Care Going to the Dogs

Literally. The Associated Press ran this article about pet owners spending big bucks for extensive cancer and diabetes treatment. As part of its slice-of-life reporting, it contains a detailed anecdote about a dog named Brownie's visit with his owner to Burger King for a fish sandwich. Brownie just had his blood sugar taken that morning, and has been medicated in recent months for diabetes, infections and high blood pressure. He's was having the fish that day because his "finicky gut...rebels at red meat."

"We give them too much food. We don't exercise them as much as we can," noted Georgette Wilson, who works for a division of Pfizer. Do tell? Is this a lucky dog, or a dog that's been acculturated in a very unfortunate way?

What happened to a pet being the incentive for the humans to be more active, connected and involved in life and the community? Apparently even this basic approach has gone to the dogs.

What if: You Stop Smoking RIGHT NOW?

Wade Meredith writes a blog called HealthBolt. I strongly encourage those smokers who think "it's too late to stop now" to read his post "What Happens to Your Body if you stop smoking right now?"

I'm no doc, nor do I play one on this blog. I also can't figure out what Wade Meredith's credentials are. But then again, I didn't try very hard to figure them out. The more important point is this: we make choices individually and as a collective. Good choices improve outcomes. Bad choices don't. And any time you choose well instead of not-so-well, then you are helping yourself and those around you.

Thanks in advance for reading Wade's post and thinking about it.

Over the Top to Make a Point

My, oh my, oh my. Please do yourself a favor and visit Bob Fuller's Roadside Memorials. It's twisted and wrong, but dead-on right at the same time. Make sure you watch the television commercial and call the 800-number.

Nonprofit advocates are really getting what the web can do. I originally thought that Elect Susie was nicely done. But what 'til you get a hold of this one.

If only Saturday Night Live had writers this good.

Who Are the Strangers? (VTech, Part 2)

More reflection brought to mind the story told by community development expert Jody Kretzmann from Northwestern University. He shared the situation: a diverse, busted-up neighborhood in Chicago was making progress in bringing neighbors together and improving their situation. Everyone was feeling good. Feeling like a community. Kretzmann challenged their good feeling with the question, "who in your neighborhood still feels like a stranger to you?"

Answer one: the police. Answer two went something like: the people who live in that house for crazy people. Indeed, neighbors were uneasy about recently discharged mental patients living in a group home.

Kretzmann reminded the assembled group that these people had unique gifts and contributions to make too. To make a long, compelling and emotional story short, the neighbors even succeeded at involving the one inhabitant who had in turn been marginalized by all of the other home's residents. His name escapes me, but this man of Polish descent had been relegated to a back room with barely enough space for a bed and no windows. He spoke to no one. For years. He was 'invisible,' to borrow a phrase from the VTech situation.

Within a year, this invisible Polish man had become a member of the neighborhood's championship all-Hispanic (except for him) bowling team. He had started talking again - some Polish, but all bowling dialogue was in Spanish. He had been brought back from invisibility. He was no longer a stranger. He belonged.

Could something like this have happpened with Cho Seung-Hui? On the one hand, Cho was severely defensive, angry, calculated, cold and mean. On the other hand, anything's possible. The question is, what kind of social capital do we need to foster to make it probable?