An example of moderate physical activity at work in earlier decades. This picture appeared with an article in the New York Times, May 25, 2011.

Our founding fathers believed in exercise, even light modalities like walking.

Thomas Jefferson, an avid walker, recorded his steps with a pedometer (Fenton, M. & Bassett, D. , 2006). In 1786, he wrote to his future son-in-law, “Not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise, and the weather should be little regarded.” Harry Truman felt similarly about his morning paces: “You should always walk as though you have someplace to go (p. 88)”.

Were they alive, Presidents Jefferson and Truman would be surprised how the U.S. is slowing down.

A recent study in PLoS One shows modern Americans burn 100 fewer calories at work than their 1960s counterparts (Church, T., Thomas, D., Tudor-Locke, C., Katzmarzyk, P., Conrad, E., Rodarte, R., Martin, M., Blair, S., Bouchard, C., 2011). Fifty years ago, half of American jobs required moderate physical activity. Today, less than 20% of jobs require such physicality, another reason for increased body weights in men and women.

Conveniences may contribute to less exercise and more chronic disease.

Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor in the health services department and co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity at the University of California, Los Angeles, recommends exercise breaks throughout the day (A. Toni Yanci, MD., MPH; Neighmond, 2011). 

Yancey’s book, Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time, suggests (Neighmond, 2011):

1. Take a 10-minute break at a scheduled time every day.
2. Climb the stairs instead of the elevator.
3. Place printers a few steps from the workspace instead of arm’s reach.
4. Fidget and stand up and stretch occasionally at meetings.
5. Replace desk chairs with stability balls.

Works Cited

(n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2011, from A. Toni Yancey, MD., MPH: http://toniyancey.com/home.html

Church, T., Thomas, D., Tudor-Locke, C., Katzmarzyk, P., Conrad, E., Rodarte, R., Martin, M., Blair, S., Bouchard, C. (2011, May 25). Trends over 5 Decades in U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity and Their Associations with Obesity. PLoS ONE, 6(5).

Fenton, M. & Bassett, D. . (2006). Pedometer Walking. Guilford: The Lyons Press.

Neighmond, P. (2011, April 25). Sitting All Day: Worse For You Than You Might Think. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from npr: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135575490/sitting-all-day-worse-for-you-than-you-might-think

Warren, T., Vaughn, B. Hooker, S.Sui, X., Church, T., Blair, S. (2010). Sedentary Behaviors Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Men. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(5), 879-885.

Facebook could be the best learning tool since pencil and paper, at least when it comes to health education.

Created in 2006, the free site is one component of Web 2.0 – interactive technologies including blogs, chat rooms, and YouTube – that allows learners to work through problems (Fischer, G., 2001). As a result, users become self-directed learners driven by life experience. (See Learning Theories.)

As an example of motivating through FB, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses interactive means: e-cards, reminding family and friends to get flu shots.

In layoring sensory and teaching strategies (debates, brainstorming, peer teaching, problem solving, pictures, and film), FB can be a health educator’s best friend because users read and then do something by clicking “like” or passing information. This is exciting considering that learners retain 90% of what they do and say versus 10% of what they read (Minelli, et al., 2009).

Note: 75 million American adults read at a Basic or Basic health literacy level (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). Messages should avoid polysyllabic words above a fourth grade reading level (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006).

Finally, health educators should not compromise privacy or autonomy as highlighted in the Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession. Thus, health educators must pay attention to sections in Article I: Responsibility to the Public. These sections include but are not limited to: “Health education specialists support the right of individuals to make informed decisions regarding health, as long as such decisions pose no threat to the health of others” (Coalition of National Health Education Organization, 1999).

Works Cited

Coalition of National Health Education Organization. (1999). Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession.

Fischer, G. (2001). Lifelong Learning and its support with New Media,. In International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, (Vol. 13, pp. 8836–8840). London, UK: Elsevier.

Minelli, M.J. & Breckon, D.J. (2009). Community health education: Settings, roles, and skills for the 21st century (5th edition ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). The health literacy of America’s adults: Results from the 2003 national assessment of adult literacy.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Healthy People 2010: Health Communication.

This hand gesture represents new beginnings and conflict resolution.

I recently met a female priest who used to be a mediator for the New York City court system. In her experience, two people in conflict will do anything to avoid direct confrontation. Warring parties –  who swear like machine guns – have nothing to say when left in silence.

Thus, she developed a technique that went something like this: “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’ve left something in my office. Let me step out for a moment.” When she returned, this former mediator found part of her job was done: Two people who hated each other conducted a more honest discussion.

The word “mediation”, according to Websters Online dictionary, is ”the act or process of mediating; especially : intervention between conflicting parties to promote reconciliation, settlement, or compromise.” Interestingly enough, the term sounds like “meditation” When done in today’s aTwittered world, the act feels like battle.

I delighted in the menagerie of poses when I started yoga. I practiced handstands and forearm stands to the point of dizziness, but after a few years, those poses turned into meaningless gymnastics. With the Recession, I meditated five minutes before bed and five minutes in the morning. While this sounds simple, I would rather do a series of arm balances. Anything to avoid being alone with my own thoughts, to mediate with my worst chitta or mindstuff.

I force myself to sit, and I hate it. When I’m done, I feel what the ancient yogis called samtosa or contentment and what my new priest friend called mercy. Sometimes I’m melancholy. Other times I’m joyful, but the experience brings clarity.

The feeling translates into that physical edge, when I’m holding a lunge and wanting to die, that uncomfortable place that some yogis call blocked happiness. “You’re not being punished,” the priest had said in regards to reconciliation, “but it’s something you must do.” When I’m done with the pose or my meditation, samtosa sometimes overcomes me. Like she said, forgiveness can knock a person out for days.