Oxygen masks for all, including our doctors

At a recent meeting dedicated to a community health initiative, all attendees were marveling at the slide above, which is from the webinar “CDC's CommunityGuide:Improving the Science of Built Environment and Public Health for Physical Activity”, presented by David Hopkins (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 05/06/2015). 

The graph illustrates the dramatic ability of physical activity to decrease all major diseases in the Westernized world. As we were discussing the slide, a physician exclaimed, ”There is not a single medication that can achieve these results”. The inevitable thought was, “If our medications are so ineffective, why are not physicians prescribing physical activity before considering any medication?”
 
There are probably many reasons; however, two may be crucial. The first is that most patients prefer an “easy fix”, something that helps their health without testing their willpower. The second is that most doctors do not practice healthy lifestyle themselves. In fact, physicians frequently function at the brink of physiological and psychological breakdown.
 
Remember the recommendations on the use of oxygen masks on a plane? In case of decompression, oxygen masks are available; however, the rule is that “if you are traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person”. The same rule of “take care of your own condition first” should apply to our physicians, because if they do not adopt a healthy lifestyle themselves, they are not fit to fulfill their duties of healers. In fact, the same responsibility is relevant to everyone who is in charge of someone. Parents should be an example for their children, teachers should be an example for their students, and bosses should be an example for their employees. 

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends 30 minutes of physical activity a day for adults. This activity does not have to be strenuous or associated with expenses (e.g., a gym membership), but could be walking, gardening, or cleaning the house. The exercise does not have to be continuous for 30 minutes, one could do “bursts of activities” of five minutes several times a day anywhere, even in front of the TV, in the waiting room, or in the office. In this manner, we can enhance our own health and be role models, representing a healthy lifestyle, to others.


Here is more on taking care of yourself: