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Move It!
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy
adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. — Paul Dudley White
Two friends and a dog enjoy a walk in Seneca Park. If you can’t be drawn down
a path into the beautiful weather of October, then you might be hopeless.
Or maybe you just need to think differently.BY Mary Cartledge Hayes Photos by
Ewa Wojtokowska
I’m not saying I'm a total slouch when it comes to wellness. My blood pressure,
for instance, is impeccable. I've had a physical every year since 1968. On the
other hand, my cholesterol is elevated and my activity level isn’t. I’m like most
people, whether plump, malnourished, or somewhere in between: I have room
for improvement. Speaking personally, I’m known to frequent fast food
restaurants, especially when traveling. Also, while I love Brussels sprouts, I love
waffles more.
I’ve been trying lately to understand my own lackadaisical attitude. Apparently,
my key issue is that I think of wellness as a pass-fail class. The virtue of pass-fail
classes is that you don’t have to excel. All you have to be is good enough.
In that case, I’m fine. I rarely get sick. Of course, wellness is more than health. It
also includes a zest for life, a healthy curiosity, a safe and cozy home,
engagement with the world, enjoyable work, people to love, and something to
believe in. I have each of those elements in my life. That should be enough,
right?
Well, actually, no. Recently I’ve noticed that what constitutes a passing grade
today may not be sufficient tomorrow. My grandmother lived to be 98. If I do the
same, I’d like to be strong and active throughout the intervening years. The main
thing standing between me and that possibility is… I hate to say this… me.
I’m not alone. According to the city’s website, more than a third of us
Louisvillians don’t include any activity whatsoever in our daily lives, 59 percent of
us are overweight, and 27 percent of us smoke cigarettes.
I was delighted to learn that the city has set up a program — The Mayor’s
Healthy Hometown Movement — intended to create a new culture of wellness in
Louisville. The 2006 phase of the Movement is called “Move It, Louisville.” The
goals are high: to increase by 15 percent the number of people who participate
in physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week; to decrease the
number of overweight people by 15 percent; and to increase from 22 percent to
38 percent the number of people who eat 5 or more servings of fruits and
vegetables a day.
I’m impressed by the city’s goal. I’d like to play my own small part in
accomplishing them. But there are two problems: I live a sedentary life, and I’m
easily overwhelmed. If I want to increase my activity level to meet the goals, I
have to accept that I won’t do it all at once. The only way I can manage this giant
step toward wellness is by taking a whole bunch of baby steps.
After all, this kind of change isn’t as straightforward as, say, deciding to wear a
seat belt. Years ago I watched a film that showed, in slow motion, the flight path
of an unrestrained passenger in a car accident. Clearly, even in a best-case
scenario some teeth were going to be knocked out. From then on, I didn’t need
a ticket to convince me to click it.
Wellness, though, is different. It’s not instantaneous. It’s an ongoing process,
and the payoffs may not be apparent for six months, or six years, or sixty.
The city wants to help us get to the payoff. Its website on the subject, www.
louisvilleky.gov/Health/MHHM, offers helpful information, tools, and links. You
can read a letter from the mayor with nearly painless suggestions for increasing
your activity level. You can find out what constitutes a serving of fruits and
vegetables. You can print out posters, and a nifty exercise log to track the small
successes. You can even find out your Body Mass Index.
I like living in a city that wants to create a culture of wellness. I like the thought
of being a co-creator of that culture. And all I have to do is take that first step —
and then keep on moving.
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy
adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. — Paul Dudley White
Two friends and a dog enjoy a walk in Seneca Park. If you can’t be drawn down
a path into the beautiful weather of October, then you might be hopeless.
Or maybe you just need to think differently.BY Mary Cartledge Hayes Photos by
Ewa Wojtokowska
I’m not saying I'm a total slouch when it comes to wellness. My blood pressure,
for instance, is impeccable. I've had a physical every year since 1968. On the
other hand, my cholesterol is elevated and my activity level isn’t. I’m like most
people, whether plump, malnourished, or somewhere in between: I have room
for improvement. Speaking personally, I’m known to frequent fast food
restaurants, especially when traveling. Also, while I love Brussels sprouts, I love
waffles more.
I’ve been trying lately to understand my own lackadaisical attitude. Apparently,
my key issue is that I think of wellness as a pass-fail class. The virtue of pass-fail
classes is that you don’t have to excel. All you have to be is good enough.
In that case, I’m fine. I rarely get sick. Of course, wellness is more than health. It
also includes a zest for life, a healthy curiosity, a safe and cozy home,
engagement with the world, enjoyable work, people to love, and something to
believe in. I have each of those elements in my life. That should be enough,
right?
Well, actually, no. Recently I’ve noticed that what constitutes a passing grade
today may not be sufficient tomorrow. My grandmother lived to be 98. If I do the
same, I’d like to be strong and active throughout the intervening years. The main
thing standing between me and that possibility is… I hate to say this… me.
I’m not alone. According to the city’s website, more than a third of us
Louisvillians don’t include any activity whatsoever in our daily lives, 59 percent of
us are overweight, and 27 percent of us smoke cigarettes.
I was delighted to learn that the city has set up a program — The Mayor’s
Healthy Hometown Movement — intended to create a new culture of wellness in
Louisville. The 2006 phase of the Movement is called “Move It, Louisville.” The
goals are high: to increase by 15 percent the number of people who participate
in physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week; to decrease the
number of overweight people by 15 percent; and to increase from 22 percent to
38 percent the number of people who eat 5 or more servings of fruits and
vegetables a day.
I’m impressed by the city’s goal. I’d like to play my own small part in
accomplishing them. But there are two problems: I live a sedentary life, and I’m
easily overwhelmed. If I want to increase my activity level to meet the goals, I
have to accept that I won’t do it all at once. The only way I can manage this giant
step toward wellness is by taking a whole bunch of baby steps.
After all, this kind of change isn’t as straightforward as, say, deciding to wear a
seat belt. Years ago I watched a film that showed, in slow motion, the flight path
of an unrestrained passenger in a car accident. Clearly, even in a best-case
scenario some teeth were going to be knocked out. From then on, I didn’t need
a ticket to convince me to click it.
Wellness, though, is different. It’s not instantaneous. It’s an ongoing process,
and the payoffs may not be apparent for six months, or six years, or sixty.
The city wants to help us get to the payoff. Its website on the subject, www.
louisvilleky.gov/Health/MHHM, offers helpful information, tools, and links. You
can read a letter from the mayor with nearly painless suggestions for increasing
your activity level. You can find out what constitutes a serving of fruits and
vegetables. You can print out posters, and a nifty exercise log to track the small
successes. You can even find out your Body Mass Index.
I like living in a city that wants to create a culture of wellness. I like the thought
of being a co-creator of that culture. And all I have to do is take that first step —
and then keep on moving.