Obesity: A Matter of National Security

We all know that obesity in the U.S. is contributing to a host of medical problems and rising healthcare costs. However, what most fitness professionals don’t realize is that obesity can also affect our nation’s security.

Speaking at a press conference at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona warned that America’s obesity epidemic is a national security problem, as the more than 9 million overweight and obese children in the country threaten to shrink the pool of eligible service men and women. Carmona said that obesity “undermines the strength of our nation.”

The rapidly growing population of overweight, obese and physically unfit children is starting to affect the military, Carmona said. Obesity is one of the most common reasons service men and women cannot fully perform their duties. Carmona called obesity “the terror within.”

These are strong words, but they shouldn’t stop there. If obesity is affecting the military, it must also be affecting the police, emergency medical personnel, firefighters and the many first responders that every community relies on. People may be sick of hearing about the “obesity epidemic,” but it could very well affect you directly if you need medical assistance in the future and you don’t get it in time because your community lacks enough qualified people to fill those jobs.

Currently, we can see what effect the shortage of military personnel is having on our troops in the Middle East (i.e., repeat tours of duty). Imagine, then, what the future military will look like if it is stretched even thinner because young men and women are too overweight to qualify for service.

The list of problems associated with obesity goes on and on. And, the longer we let it go on, the worse things will become. The problem with overweight children may currently be a problem for their parents and healthcare professionals, but it will soon become a problem for everyone.

AEDs: A No-Brainer, Except at the Large Chains

I must be either overly naive or overly trusting. With the possibility of having a heart attack increasing exponentially after the age of 45, and the number of older adult members in health clubs increasing each year, I just assumed that all fitness facilities now have AEDs. Especially in light of the recent laws passed that 1) require AEDs in most public places, including fitness facilities (knowing that exercise increases the risk of cardiac arrest by a multiple of 20), and 2) release individuals who employ the use of AEDs to assist heart attack victims from liability. But, apparently, my risk of having a heart attack is of no concern to certain health club chain operators. Namely: Bally Total Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness.

At least that’s what the family members of Gary Fowler and Richard Eng found out. The sister of Gary Fowler was kind enough to email me about the ruling in the lawsuit on behalf of Fowler against Bally Total Fitness, which she thought might be of interest to the readers of our magazine and blog. And, no doubt, it will be (if you aren’t already in the know), especially because you won’t want to find your own facility in such a predicament.

First, let’s look at the facts about heart attacks. According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the majority (or 53 percent) of fitness center members are over the age of 35 (20 percent are over the age of 55). The results of several large studies have concluded that the major risk factor for having a heart attack is age. In fact, if you look at the website Health and Age, you’ll find a chart that shows the results of a 26-year follow-up Framingham Heart Study, which details the sharp increase of heart attack risk after the age of 44. It’s pretty staggering.

And, Bally Total Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness executives know this. But, they have failed to show they care. In November 2005, Fowler collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest and died while exercising at a Bally club in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Md. There was no AED on the premises, despite the fact that a Montgomery County ordinance in effect at the time required the installation of AEDs in health clubs. Bally’s attorneys, however, argued that, due to a Home Rule amendment in the town of Gaithersburg, the ordinance did not apply. The judge, James Eagan, disagreed:

“This Court cannot discern any logical reason why Bally would not employ AEDs at its Gaithersburg facilities, considering it was already obligated to deploy AEDs throughout the rest of Montgomery County. Such action on the part of Bally smacks of indifference to the welfare of its patrons. … There is no denying the fact that Bally knew with 100 percent certainty that dozens of its members would suffer heart attacks and die each year, and, instead of pursuing a relatively cheap and easy solution to the problem through the deployment of AEDs at its health facilities, Bally chose to consciously disregard this known risk. That strikes this Court as the very definition of gross negligence.”

And, to show just how blatantly negligent Bally’s decision to not employ AEDs is, a story on Gazette.Net reports that, “This is the sixth case against Bally for failure to have AEDs, and, in at least four of them, Bally settled for confidential amounts.” What I find even more sad is the fact that, according to the report on the Weinberg and Garber website, attorneys for Fowler, “employees did not immediately begin CPR when responding to Mr. Fowler’s collapse; instead, club members, realizing that staff would not do so, performed CPR.”

Weinberg and Garber also acted as co-counsel in the case filed on behalf of Richard Eng, a member of 24 Hour Fitness in the San Francisco area, who suffered cardiac arrest and, due to lack of prompt response, is severely brain damaged and now requires around-the-clock medical care. 24 Hour Fitness failed to have an AED on the premises. And, Weinberg and Garber report that this is despite management’s “knowledge that 20 to 40 of its members were dying of cardiac arrest each year.” What’s worse is that “24 Hour Fitness actually refused an offer, as part of an American Heart Association program, of free AEDs and training in 2001 at its northwest clubs,” says Weinberg and Garber. “The admitted reason: It might have been a basis to argue that all of its clubs should be similarly equipped.” And, even though 24 Hour Fitness requires CPR training of employees, it does not require that employees so trained actually use CPR to help a stricken member.

Again, I may be naive or overly trusting, but I believe, per my conversations with fitness center operators, that most facilities do have AEDs on their premises. But, as a member of a large fitness club chain, if I suffer a heart attack while working out, I won’t hold my breath waiting for help from the staff. Of course, I won’t have to.

Big, Black Boxes of Sin

I don’t know about your members, but I go to the gym for one reason: to watch hot chicks and smokin’ guys shake their stuff. There, I said it. I don’t run for an hour on the treadmill for my health; I do it so I can get an eyeful of scantily clad women lip-syncing to top 40 hits, or bumping and grinding next to a shirtless, scowling rap star. Don’t call the cops just yet — I’m not doing anything illegal. I’m just watching the videos playing on the TVs scattered throughout the club. Those big, black boxes of sin are chock full of sex, I tell you. SEX!

OK, so the previous paragraph is not entirely true. I don’t actually go to the gym to watch music videos. I do run on the treadmill for my health, but I’ve only clocked an hour once and that nearly killed me. But there is a group of concerned — no, HORRIFIED — students in Utah who are doing whatever they possibly can to get that filth off two area Gold’s Gym closed-circuit televisions.

I promise you, this time I’m not kidding.

Five “organizations that fight pornography in the community are upset with the videos at the gym and say they have collected nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition calling on Gold’s Gym to quit showing the videos,” reports KSL5. Dallen Johnson told the KSL5 reporter, “I’ve had to leave, honestly! There have been four times I’ve run out of the cardio cinema because of racy and inappropriate things being shown, things I personally view as pornography.” You know, there are certain shoe displays so alluring that I view them as pornography, but I’m not demanding that the stores take them down. I just want a discount.

Jesse Yaffe says the injustice goes even further. Not only does Gold’s broadcast porn, but apparently those sadists force him to watch it. “Once you are a member here, you basically don’t have the choice anymore,” Yaffe told the reporter. “You’re forced to watch indecent material because it seems everywhere you go there’s a TV.” And you thought your members wanted entertainment options!

Gold’s Gym officials in Utah, bless their hearts, are taking the time to listen to the students’ complaints. “Gold’s says music helps to energize people who are there to exercise, and say they don’t want anyone to be offended at the gym during their workout experience,” reports KSL5.

However, it seems the offenses don’t stop at lascivious videos. The students have demanded that Gold’s install blinds on the group exercise room because the exercisers’ “dancing” is “very provocative.” Unless the cocktail-loving ladies from Flirty Girls Fitness have stumbled into a Gold’s by mistake after a wild night of pole dancing, I fail to see how group exercise could be so provocative it should be behind closed doors.

Don’t get me wrong. Some people prefer a more modest environment to work out in, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Heck, we’ve written about facilities that cater to those people. But it’s my opinion that Gold’s should stay strong. A club should not change to accommodate the few — nor should it do so in a manner that suggests all of its other locations are doing something wrong or indecent. If the students are unhappy there, then Gold’s should refund their money and send them on their way.

And I’m not kidding about that, either.

‘Biggest Loser’ Results Unattainable for Most

If ever there were a television show that would make you feel good about yourself, it’s The Biggest Loser. Unlike the usual stick-thin actors who are on TV, participants on this show are obese, and are shown struggling with their weight just like most “normal” people. The show also highlights the dangers of being overweight, and may inspire viewers at home to get on the exercise bandwagon.

However, the benefits of the show, at least for viewers, stop there. With Season Five in full swing, there are many copy-cat competitions being held around the country in fitness centers, corporations and among friends. And, although everyone agrees that losing weight is difficult, not many people know what really goes on behind the scenes of The Biggest Loser. What they don’t know can hurt them.

What viewers don’t know, according to an article published in the New York Times, is that contestants on the show work out up to five hours per day. They spend an hour or two on resistance training, an hour on a high-intensity cardiovascular exercise, and up to three hours walking on the treadmill, using the elliptical trainer or riding a stationary bike. Combine that with a low-calorie diet (1,100 to 1,500 calories a day for the women, and 1,500 to 2,300 calories a day for the men), and they are bound to lose weight. Lots of it.

Viewers at home may become discouraged when they see contestants losing up to 30 pounds per week, while they are only losing 2 pounds. Says the article, “If you’re losing 2 pounds a week and you’re watching The Biggest Loser, you probably think your diet is going horribly. If you lose 2 pounds a week and you’re not watching the show, you probably think your diet is going great.”

The show, which offers a feel-good story about fat people changing their lives, can actually be quite depressing for some viewers who are also trying to lose weight.

If you offer a Biggest Loser-type promotion at your fitness center, make sure you point out the differences between reality TV and actual reality. If members have unrealistic expectations, that could lead to drop-out if those aren’t met — or, worse, unsafe practices to try and lose those unwanted pounds.