Today at the NBC 4 Health and Fitness expo in DC, I attended a health forum on Obesity. I met and shook hands with Antone Davis, a past season contestant on the Biggest Loser, a former NFL player, who lost over 200 pounds. His focus for controlling weight was on exercise. Antone said that out of 15 contestants, after just 3 weeks of exercise and changes, 12 of the contestants were able to be rid of all medications, including blood pressure and cholesterol meds, plus others. Now, on the biggest loser, their job is literally to lose weight and exercise 4+ hours a day (from my understanding!) and there are minimal life distractions. So translate this to regular life, what if it took 3 months to be rid of medications (I've seen this happen in real life!) and lose 5-10% of body weight. Is it worth it? How much better is your life (if weight is a struggle).
Also speaking was Dr. Yolandra Hancock, a pediatric doc and an obesity specialist. From my perspective, she is an all around salt of the earth, been around the block, solution oriented woman who has a passion and gift for helping kids and families who struggle with weigh issues. She recommended the 5-2-1-0 rule. To help with the obesity problem, each a kid should:
5- Eat 5 fruits and vegetable servings
2- Limit screen time to under 2 hours
1- Be physically active for 1 hour
0- Eliminate sugary beverages like soda from the diet
Many issues were brought up during this forum including issues of personal responsibility, government responsibility, education, etc. It was fascinating to hear from several about the issues surrounding not only our youth, but the American people at large.
What do you think?
Read Antone's story as told to Prevention Magazine.
Check out Yolandra's story on radio about how she got involved in childhood obesity as a physician.
