Healthy is as healty does

I am never quite sure what to think whenever I see a headline, such as the one that led the Tuesday, September 18th edition of the APEX (Eastern Kentuckians the unhealthiest in state). After all, it’s not as though the information which it promised to disseminate, which comes from a study titled “Health in Kentucky”, has never made the rounds before. Anyone who has seen this sort of thing would know before reading the first line that three elements would be cited as the primary cause of our lack of good health: We smoke too much, our diets are unhealthy and lead to obesity, and we simply don’t exercise enough. Ergo, we have an epidemic of “lung cancer, premature deaths, and deaths from cardiovascular diseases.” The high rate of diabetes in our region can be also tied to what we eat and our aversion to physical activity.

I suppose that I am expected to read this story, slowly digest its contents, and sadly shake my head at what it reveals to me. But, again, nothing is really new here. Not even the root causes that are hinted at in various places throughout the article. That most of the counties in Eastern Kentucky are poverty-stricken is well known. And that endemic poverty tends to be associated with populations that aren’t as healthy as those who are lucky enough to be born in more affluent climes could be inferred, as well. Likewise, that the healthier and wealthier counties in this state have more people covered by health insurance than their poorer counterparts to the east, or that there are more doctors in these more fortunate counties, aren’t earth-shaking revelations, either. All this, BTW, reveals itself in the stats that many Eastern Kentuckians have lost more of their teeth. After all, if you don’t have enough money to see a regular doctor, you probably aren’t going to be going to the dentist as often as you need to, either.

We could, I suppose, curse our luck for having had the misfortune to be born in a situation not of our making, as we go by our favorite fast-food restaurant, where we order the fattiest items on the menu, pausing only long enough to light up another Lucky, while we wait for our order to be made. But, as the old Chinese saying goes, “It is better to light a single candle than it is to curse the darkness”. So, while there may be little that each of us can do to alleviate the poverty in which we live, or to correct the fact that so many of us lack health insurance, we can do some things to live healthier lifestyles. And in the end, it is incumbent on us to help ourselves where we can, if we are to end our predilection for early deaths.

The most immediate problem with our unhealthy lifestyles is the fact that we smoke too much. This is correctable, and we have the added advantage that a group of our young people is willing to lead the way. This group, the aptly-named “Pike County Youth Leadership Council” has already persuaded the Fiscal Court to make the courthouse smoke free, and is now aiming to emancipate us from the tyranny of smokers in the restaurants in which we must eat, as well. There is, of course, the predictable resistance from the owners of some of these business establishments, who insist that if they forbid smoking, they will lose revenue as a result. But we can only hope that this group will persist (and I fully expect that they will), and that in the end, that they are successful in their quest to clear the air in this matter.
That argument, by the way, that banning smokers costs revenue, is one I could never understand. The one thing a restaurant owner wants is to provide a good meal for his diners, and then to see that table turned over to others in a timely manner. After all, the more people you serve, the more money you make. A non-smoker is, it would seem, the one who fits that description best. He is like the koala bear in the proverbial ambiguous sentence, in that he “eats shoots and leaves”.

A smoker, on the other hand, dawdles. He will light up his Lucky following his dinner, perhaps have that second cup of coffee, and, in all likelihood, that second Lucky, all the while, spewing his poison out to spoil the dinner of those around him. Oh, sure, I know that argument for “smoking sections”, but, as it has been observed, you can’t keep pee in one end of the pool.

Diets are another matter. It is a pleasure thing, I suppose. You know, if some of it is good, more of it must be better. All of which leads many of us to load up that plate with as much as it will hold, and go back for more once we have emptied it. I am lucky, I suppose, in having grown up in a home where we ate just enough to sustain us, and never much more. I have never strayed from this way of eating that stresses quality over quantity.

For those of us who have strayed, and who need to lose weight, too many look for that magic bullet that will allow us to continue to live in sin, while at the same time, slimming down, and none exists. Instead of temporarily limiting what we eat in order to get to a smaller waist size, we need to adopt a change of lifestyle. This means that our goals must be long term. This should include seeing a doctor and a dietician, who will help us begin eating a healthier diet, and lead us to that last piece of the puzzle as well, an exercise program.

Exercise needn’t be a trying thing, but it must be as much a part of your day as any ritual, such as rising, bathing, or eating. It needn’t take too much time-30 minutes a day works wonders-and it shouldn’t entail more than you are physically able to do. A brisk walk at the same time each day, for instance, and you’ll see the difference in no time. And you’ll be surprised at how your energy level will increase.
Simple life style changes, such as these, if adopted by enough people, would go a long way towards making news stories about the deteriorating state of our health, disappear, like the excess weight we now carry around our waist like an albatross.