Recently there was a public debate between a physician and the Governor of New Jersey on the subject of weight. The Governor, pictured below, famously ate a donut on the David Letterman Show, eliciting this: “I’m worried he may have a heart attack. I’m worried he may have a stroke,” former White House physician Connie Mariano, M.D. said in an interview with CNN.
The media event continued with a press conference at which Governor Christie told the doctor to shut up, and a follow-up phone call in which he put the point more strongly. Nonetheless, he admitted that: “I have been remarkably healthy. My doctor continues to warn me my luck is going to run out relatively soon. So, believe me, it is something that I am very conscious of,”
There were suggestions that the doctor was diagnosing him long-distance, which is generally a breach of medical ethics if not common sense. I take that as political spin–the doctor was simply citing well-known demographic facts. For example, you only need to look at a recent study of the impact of obesity on longevity on 50-year-olds. (Governor Christie is 50 years old)
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania applying statistical analysis to mortality figures were able to tease out the role of obesity.
In the United States, they concluded, obesity contributes to a loss of 1.5-2.0 years of life to men and women at age 50.
That conclusion is even more astounding when you consider that it is an average: many people lose considerably more than 2 years of life because they weigh too much: eating too much and exercising too little.
I confess that I do not like having a President who smokes. I also do not want a President who is morbidly obese. If Governor Christie represents everyman, then everyman needs to exercise more and eat less, beginning with less donuts.
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