JUNE 19, 2012 — As our club’s guest on Tuesday, June 19, Dr. Greg Cooper, the former owner of the Cooper Spinal Institute and member of the 1992 Olympic medical staff, shared insightful experience regarding the health and wellness of American citizens.
Emphasizing the simple and important health management message we all hear several times a day, Dr. Cooper put into refreshingly simple terms just what an impact simple modifications to our daily diet and exercise regimen can have.
To spotlight the benefits of healthy eating and exercise habits, he illustrated critical cultural differences between the healthcare management resources we have in the United States and those he witnessed in China. Across most of the country, medical providers work with low technology and in poor structures. “Shocked as I was of this discovery in 1986, more telling was the general health profile of China’s citizens, whose health overall was equal to that of our population despite a mediocre medical industry. How is that possible, I asked?” The overwhelming answer, again, is in diet and exercise.
If healthful living isn’t your priority, perhaps having a positive influence on the macroeconomic picture of the U.S. healthcare financial would be, say, to put a dent in the nearly $3 trillion spending rate we are fueling. That translates to us spending approximately $6567 per person each year on healthcare. By comparison, Italy registers the lowest at about $2520 per citizen, while France, Germany and the Netherlands rank in the mid-range at about $3700 per person, 50 percent of what we spend. What are the big factors (so to speak)? “We are spoiled and we have a for-profit healthcare system,” he said.
When listing the top ranked causes of death – heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity – he told the luncheon crowd about his theory of the primary contributors to each of these. How could we not get the point, once and for all, with his humorous evolutionary scale slide: humanoids progressing through the ages from ape to early homo sapien to modern human, ending up today as…swine!
Dr. Cooper’s career path was forever changed by his growing research and findings, and he now operates a thriving corporate wellness consulting business named “The Reasonable Radical.”
So, when hearing those messages on the airwaves each day, “Eat better, Exercise, Blah, Blah,” Dr. Cooper implores each one of us to “WAKE UP!”
“We can all have a vital hand in making the right changes that will help us as individuals and as a nation to be healthier, happier and more productive.”
As Rotarians, this is a mission we can continue to support. And, remember, do we really want to continue to produce ten year olds with high blood pressure? We can each make a personal commitment to eat good food (broccoli vs. burgers), support the growing family farm industry, exercise in any form, and importantly remain aware and responsible. Life is short; make the most of it.
Submitted by Mark Danes, Keyway Committee