Note: This article was written by my friend Michael Spezzano. The picture you clicked to get here was carefully selected to trick you into thinking that this article is about the "Obesity Epidemic." It is quite the opposite. Suffice it to say that IF there were really an epidemic of obesity, then the solution would simply be to remove excess adipose tissue. Unbelievably, this approach is rapidly growing in popularity. The right epidemic and the right solution are eloquently described below. Read on!

It would be very difficult to  overstate the urgency that  U.S. government and health  officials have placed on the  dangers posed by obesity,” wrote  friend and colleague Jonathan Robison,  Ph.D., of Michigan State University.  “The rhetoric reached a new zenith  when Surgeon General Dr. Richard  Carmona warned that obesity was, for  Americans, ‘a greater threat than  weapons of mass destruction.’”

Daily news items, new research, more  diet books, the obesity gene, revolu-  tionary exercise and weight loss plans,  miracle drugs, and ever-present maps  showing the spread of obesity in the  U.S. over the past 20 years make it  impossible to ignore the “obesity epidemic” in our country today.

I think they have it wrong. They are  focusing on the wrong thing, at the  least. There is conflicting evidence on  the health risks of obesity by itself,  though it does appear as though there  has been a collective weight gain on  the part of Americans young and old  of late.

Some research will show that thin peo-  ple have higher incidences of disease  and mortality. Some will show that a lit-  tle extra weight can be a good thing.  I’m not suggesting we stop paying  attention to health, and that weight  gain is a desirable goal, but I think continually calling attention to just one of  the possible results of unhealthy  behavior is the wrong approach.

There is indeed significant evidence  that a lifestyle of too little physical  activity and poor nutrition can eventual-  ly lead to disease, some weight gain  and, perhaps, obesity. What we need  to do is stop talking about obesity and  put the focus on what is really important as many try to adopt healthier  lifestyles: physical activity and proper  nutrition. 

The focus needs to be on health, not  weight. So, all together, repeat after  me: It is not an obesity epidemic. It is  an epidemic of physical inactivity and  poor nutrition. That’s what is plaguing  too many Americans today; not finding  joy in moving their bodies enough, and  putting too much of the wrong fuel in  the tank.

I actually heard Mark Fenton, former  publisher of Walking Magazineand  current community health activist,  deliver this message at the American  College of Sports Medicine Health &  Fitness Summit last year. It made a  lot of sense to me, particularly in the  context of the organization for which I  work.

YMCAs have been providing programs  that build healthy spirit, mind, and  body for more than a century. Ys have  long been considered pioneers and  experts in health and wellness, with  outstanding programs and a philoso-  phy that honors the whole person with  values like caring and respect, and  focuses on one’s assets or strengths,  not one’s deficits.

Many health professionals, and most  of us in YMCAs, have been trying for  years to convince people to exercise,  eat better, stop smoking, and reduce  stress, mostly by telling them they will  be miserable and die if they don’t.  Well, you tell me: how effective has  that approach been? 

Sure, some people will adopt new  behaviors when mortality looks them  in the eye, but by and large, this  doesn’t work. It has become clear  that we cannot scare people into  being healthier. I think they have fig-  ured out that they are going to die  eventually anyway.

So what’s the answer? We have to  address health one person at a time.  Treat individuals, build a relationship,  find out what makes them happy, what  their goals are, what kind of support  they need. Help them adopt healthier  behaviors, whatever that means for  them, not focus on their weight. It is  about living well, not about living or  dying. There is a movement afoot that  preaches sanity in the face of health  scare tactics called “Health at Every  Size” (HAES), of which Dr. Robison is a  proponent.

HAES defines a healthy weight as “the  weight at which a person’s body

settles as they move towards a more fulfilling and meaningful lifestyle.” It supports a “holistic view of health that  promotes feeling good about oneself,  eating well in a natural, relaxed way,  and being comfortably active.” Positive  self-esteem, natural eating, and activity sound good to me.

By Michael J. Spezzano. He is a big important dude at Y-USA, in Chicago, Ill. You can bug him at Michael.spezzano@ymca.net.

* Reprinted with permission from Michael Spezzano.