An American National
Treasure
in the field of health and fitness
Dr. Jonathan Robison
For those of you who follow the Coltons Point Times you
noticed I spend a great deal of effort reviewing health care in America . Several series of articles are posted covering
issues like, The Broken American Health Care System, Lyme Disease - The Secret
Pandemic Sweeping America
As I report on developments in America , I am constantly in search
of those dedicated practioners in the field whose pioneering work today will
open the door to breakthroughs in the future. The list is woefully short for the massive
dimension of the problems we face.
There are a few criteria for people to make my exclusive
list of bridge builders.
First, and foremost, their underlying motivation must not be
financial gain but a commitment to serve people.
Second, they must recognize we have not found the keys to
proper health care for the future.
Third, they must recognize that health care must address all
the societal and cultural issues that affect the mental and physical health of
the individual.
Fourth, they must strive to communicate the work they
pioneer to others in order to multiply the impact on the people.
Fifth, they must be darn good at what they do.
I am pleased to introduce the newest member of this
exclusive club, Dr. Jonathan Robison, a teacher and many other things from the
State of Michigan .
You would do well to follow the good doctor as he pioneers his
new way of treating some of our most dangerous old health issues. Dr. Jon Robison is a charter member of those
building the bridge, to the future.
Here is a little about Dr. Jon.
Jonathan Robison holds a doctorate in health
education/exercise physiology and a master of science in human nutrition from Michigan State University Western Michigan University North America .
Dr. Robison specializes in health promotion and human behavior, with a particular interest in why people do what they do and don’t do what they don’t do. His presentations and workshops promote shifting health promotion away from its traditional, biomedical, control-oriented focus. His first book:
The Spirit and Science of Holistic Health
More than broccoli, jogging and bottled water
…More than yoga, herbs and meditation
presents a radically new direction for health education and promotion. It is meant as a textbook for students and a guidebook for practitioners who wish to incorporate holistic principles and approaches into their work.
Dr. Robison’s work served as the foundation for the award-winning KAILO - one of the first truly holistic employee-wellness programs in North America
His new book:
How To Build a Thriving Culture at Work: Featuring The 7 Points of Transformation
with co-author Dr. Rosie Ward - delivers a blueprint for building thriving organizational cultures that free, fuel and inspire people to bring their best selves to work.
Dr. Robison has served as co-editor of the journal Health At Every SizeTM - and has been helping people with weight and eating-related concerns for more than 20 years. He is one of the featured health professionals in the powerful Documentary -
He is also a Certified Intrinsic Coach.
The
following is one of the many articles he has published on the health issues of
today.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The
Real Causes of Poor Health: Addendum
Jon Robison
In a recent post I examined the difficulties we seem to
have focusing on and addressing the emotional, social and economic issues that
are the real underlying causes of poor health in this country. I was gratified
to see that the post seemed to strike a nerve with so many of the respondents.
As I was considering the next piece I might write, I came across some headlines
that grabbed my attention. Apparently, for the first time in decades,
American’s life expectancy is stagnating.
The Rhetoric
This is not the first time that we have been warned
about the possibility that this might happen. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 obesity researchers claimed
that:
“The steady rise in life
expectancy during the past two centuries may soon come to an end…obesity may
shave up to 5 years off the average life spans in the coming years.”
Fortunately for all of us with children, this gloomy
forecast turned out to be inaccurate. In fact, when the authors were pressed to
provide research to support their claim in an expose in Scientific American entitled “Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic?” they responded by
saying:
“These are just
back-of-the-envelope, plausible scenarios. We never meant for them to be
portrayed as precise.”
That was more than 15 years ago. But in spite of the admission from the authors that they had basically fabricated this scary conclusion, the fear mongering around obesity and life expectancy for our children has continued unabated – being brought up ad nauseum at Conferences and in the media as if it were, or had ever been, an actual fact.
The Reality
So, I was a bit
skeptical, but certainly curious when I saw the headlines in all the major news
outlets saying:
"Increase in US
Concerned that that
this might be another diatribe about the perils of obesity and the need for
people to join weight-loss programs, I perused the internet for related stories
and found many:
·
“Rising suicide among
adults aged 40-64 years: the role of job and financial circumstances.” (Am J Prev Med)
·
“White Women Suffered Biggest Drop in Life Expectancy In The U.S."(Huffington
Post)
·
“U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30 Year High” (NY Times)
It turns out, rather frighteningly, that significant
decreases in life expectancy particularly for poor, white American women are
causing life expectancy for all Americans to remain flat. And what is
precipitating these excess premature deaths? According to the Wall Street Journal, the stagnation in
life expectancy is largely attributable to “increases in death rates from suicides, drug overdoses and
related causes.” In
fact, the author of the CDC report stated that, in 2014:
“Increases in the number of
deaths from suicide, alcohol or drug overdoses offset declines in deaths for
both white men and women from cancer, heart disease and other major chronic
killers.”
And what about obesity? Again, According to the report:
“While some researchers have
pointed to the sharp rise in obesity as a mortality factor, the CDC said there
was no data for now to support that view.”
Seems like we have
heard that one before!
You can peruse the finer details (particularly related
to ethnicity and gender) about exactly what is going on in the CDC report. But the bottom line is that once again
we may need to acknowledge that our myopic focus on individual health behaviors
and the resultant coercive, bio-metric screenings and exercise and weight loss
programs that are so ubiquitous at the workplace are very likely missing the
mark, at best.
In my previous post I
used an iceberg graphic to depict the fact that dealing with what is primarily
above water in or out of the workplace is likely to produce minimal, sustained,
positive outcomes. I want to end this post with another version of the pyramid.
The Food for Thought Pyramid
My friend and colleague Laura McKibbin, LICSW, has
developed an amazingly creative graphic to display what a comprehensive and
holistic description of health might look like. The Food For Thought Pyramid is structured like the now defunct
food pyramid used to be, with the most important foundations of health at the
base of the pyramid.
As you can see, the base of the pyramid has little to do
with personal strivings for bio-metric or behavioral perfection and everything
to do with the context of our existence and the circumstances we have been
dealt. Without the life-sustaining foundation represented by the base of the
pyramid, fruits and vegetables, exercise, and low cholesterol will likely have
minimal impact on personal health.
Genetics, luck and a range of social and
cultural factors provide the critical platform on which a healthful existence
is built and remind us about the complexities and importance of context to
understanding the true meaning of human health. And while there is certainly a
place for individual behaviors like nutrition and exercise (whether in the
workplace or in the culture at large) they are always considered and addressed
most effectively in the context of the social environment in which they exist,
as this most recent disturbing data from the CDC clearly demonstrates.
For people who are interested, Laura sells the pyramid on her site. Please note that although I helped Laura
finalize the pyramid and Dr.Rosie Ward and I used it in our book, we get no
reimbursement of any kind from its sale. And, true to Laura’s beliefs and work,
part of the proceeds of each pyramid go to charity either of her choosing or
the buyers. All in all, a great way to help move the understanding of the true
causes of poor health into the 21st century.
Speaker Profile:
Jon Robison
PhD, MS, MA
Dr. Jon Robison is an accomplished
speaker, teacher, writer
and consultant. He has spent his career
working to shift
health promotion away from its
traditional, biomedical,
control-oriented focus, with a particular
interest in why
people do what they do and don’t do what
they don’t do.
Jon has authored numerous articles and book
chapters on a
variety of health-related topics and is a
frequent presenter at
conferences throughout North
America . He is also co-author of
the book, “The Spirit and Science of
Holistic Health — More than
Broccoli, Jogging and Bottled Water, More
than Yoga, Herbs and
Meditation,” a college textbook and a
guidebook for practitioners
who wish to incorporate holistic principles
and practices into their
work.
This book provided the foundation for
Kailo, one of the first
truly holistic employee wellness programs
in the United States
Kailo won prestigious awards in both Canada
States, and the creators lovingly claim Jon
as its father.
Jon has also been a national leader in the
Health At Every
Size Movement for almost two decades. He
has been responsible
for implementing Health for Every Body® — a
unique alternative
to weight loss programs at the worksite in
over 15 cities across
the United States in the past 2 years. He
is also one of the
featured health professionals in the
powerful documentary
helping people struggling with weight- and
eating-related
concerns for 25 years.
Contact Jon for:
• Keynote Speaking • Onsite Workshops
• Pre-Conference Workshops
• Conference Breakout Sessions
• Workplace presentations
A few of Jon’s presentation topics:
• Re-Thinking Health: Getting Ourselves Unstuck
from an Outdated Paradigm
• Healthy Employees and Health Organizations:
Ushering Worksite Wellness into the 21st
Century
• Weight Loss at The Workplace: A Smart
Investment in Tough Economic Times...
or Money Down the Toilet?
• Punished By Rewards: Rethinking the Use of
Incentives at the Workplace
• Surviving “Risk Factor Frenzy”: The Research on
Health & Disease - What Does It Really
Mean?
• Health for Every Body: A Unique Worksite
Approach for Helping People Come To Peace
with
Their Bodies and Their Food
• Participation, Engagement and Behavior Change:
What Works and What’s Missing in Employee
and Organizational Health?
Contact Jon at:
.
