Williamsburg, VA. The Summit
on Obesity was very informative and helped improve
the awareness of the changes that we all must contribute
to in order to reverse the upward trend in obesity.
Authors, doctors, foundations, reporters, corporate
leaders, and even Lynn Swan - Chairman of the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS)
- were all present to effectuate the needed change.
The bottom line from this Summit: we all need to
do are part to contribute to a healthier society,
from the government level all the way down to each
individual. Here are some of the people I was able
to meet and talk with regarding their contributions.
Peter Jennings - ABC News
[Peter Jennings passed away on Aug 8, 2005 Read more...] Peter Jennings moderated a panel of leaders,
and questioned them about the topic of advertising
to children. The questions dealt with the close
to $34 Billion dollars spent on advertsing, much
of which influences our children's food desires. Learn more about
Peter Jennings report from The Summit.
Lynn Swann - Chairman PCPFS
Lynn
spoke Wednesday evening at the dinner, and I
was happy to hear his
basic approach to getting healthy and fit: "start
by doing one thing" and go from there. This
is the approach that I believe works and have been
preaching
for years - taking
things one simple step at a time. (He's 52 and in
great shape!) Learn more about the Council.
Dr. Andrew Weil - Author
Dr.
Weil spoke at dinner on Thursday and is very
dynamic, even funny.
Part of his talk was called 8 weeks to optimal obesity
-
a play on words from his bestseller "8 Weeks to
Optimum Health", intended to bring about awareness
of the many facets that
are contributing to the obesity epidemic. Check out Dr. Weil's books.
Dr. Memet Oz and Dr. Dean Ornish
Dr. Oz is a
Cardiologist and has made great contributions to
help curb obesity.
Learn more about his
book YOU: On a Diet.
Dr.
Katz is an expert in Nutrition and Preventative
Medicine. He has been
on Oprah and you can learn more
about his book "The Way to Eat" on Oprah's
site. He also writes for O Magazine. You can find
out more on Oprah's site.
Dr. Howard Shapiro - Author
Dr. Shapiro (also
a Warner book author - and understands my pain!) has
a medical practice specializing in
weight control and life management. Learn more about
him and his books.
The
people above and many others really are making
a difference. The
one thing I was surprised to see (actually not)
were the lack of people who had either tried "dieting" and
failed, or even succeeded losing weight
after many
different "diet" attempts.
It would have been beneficial to hear the voices
of those who are struggling or have
struggled to lose
weight in order to let the attendees know the difficulties
that are faced. I believe I may have been one of
the few voices
in attendance that spoke from experience. In that
regard, I was even more happy to be there.
Carpe Diet
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diagnose or treat any condition or disease. Please consult a physician when
beginning any diet or exercise program."