The results? “Among U.S. adults 20 years and older, 23.5 percent (approximately 16.3 million adults) of normal-weight adults were metabolically abnormal, whereas 51.3 percent (approximately 35.9 million adults) of overweight adults and 31.7 percent (approximately 19.5 million adults) of obese adults were metabolically healthy.” What does this mean? That BMI alone does not determine a person’s health.
So what else determines health? The controllable item that affected cardiometabolic health was the level of physical activity.
The obesity “epidemic” has been in the news for years - but is this the right focus? Maybe not. “There is too much emphasis on weight and not nearly enough on physical activity,” said Dr. Steven Blair, an authority on the health benefits of exercise at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. “People should focus on healthful behaviors, 30 minutes of activity per day, eight to 10 servings of fruit/vegetables, focus on whole grains, restrict highly processed foods.”
Asked if the “F as in Fat” report is sending the wrong message, Blair responded that “another report hyping the obesity epidemic and how awful it is will not move us very far towards a solution. In my opinion there is too much emphasis on soda, snacks, fast foods, etc; when the evidence that these things are important causes of the problem is lacking.
Blair recommends we “focus on objective measures of activity and fitness, and on healthful diets. Let the focus be on healthful behaviors rather than weight.”
So here is an idea that might seem radical: instead of measuring what we don’t want (obesity), how about focusing on what we do want? HEALTH!
My first pass at an acronym HEALTH -- Healthy Eating Active Learning Targeting Humans -- might not be the best, but it underscores that health is a process, not a destination, achieved through activities that provide impact over time.
“F is for Fat” recommended a national strategy involving all government agencies. I cannot imagine any organization that includes every agency of federal, state and local governments would be effective. What I can imagine is the president, national and state leaders using the “bully pulpit” to focus on the right behaviors: healthy eating and activity.
Instead of just talking about policy, we should try something new. For instance, the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association could challenge states to see which could increase by the greatest amount the average activity per resident.
If it is true that a clear goal creates a better, clearer path to success, then let us clearly define the goal - Health, and move to a behavior that makes sense - Activity.
How about measuring A for Active?