Be Light Hearted

A new study examining data from one million Swedes has allowed a definitive link to be drawn between body mass index (BMI) and cause of death. It demonstrated that the link between a high BMI (indicating an overweight or obese condition) and coronary heart disease, may be even stronger than previously thought. By linking the BMI of parents with that of their children the statistical analysis was able to avoid biases caused by confounding influences, like weight loss caused by smoking and / or cancer.

A three point increase in BMI was found to be associated with an 82% greater likelihood of heart death. Coronary heart disease costs the US economy more that half a trillion dollars a year. In the UK, the survival of the welfare state is predicated upon people being able to retire later than the current age. Yet heart health, or rather ill-health, is likely to see record numbers off the job and on Incapacity Benefit.

As with the climate change crisis, industrialised nations have created societal norms that have failed to the consider the long term impacts of overconsumption and convenience on our own bodies. Steps must be taken. Walking and jogging are a great start. Because to paraphrase the legendary late Bill Shankly, healthy weight and regular physical activity are not just a matter of life and death: they're much more important than that.

Where's The Proof?

“The Olympic and Paralympic Games do not inspire everyone in the same way - in fact, what inspires some may have the opposite effect on others.  In particular, evidence suggests that elite sport rarely motivates physical activity take-up among non-participants and the least active." As a lifelong believer in the power of the Olympic Games to inspire, these were hard words for me to read. But they confirmed what my research had already started to indicate. And they confirmed too, the difficulty I had at the IOC when trying to convince journalists about the ability of the Olympic Games to encourage more sports participation in host countries. The words are those of Professor Mike Weed. His statement is based on evidence, rather than the gut-feeling resonance of appeals to Olympic emotion.

Prof. Weed continues, however: "For these groups, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games should be promoted as a four year festival of community participation events rather than an elite sport competition.” Considering that non-participants and the least active account for the majority of people in the UK provides an idea of the scope of the opportunity we are faced with. It's one of Olympian proportions.

Let's get on with it, supported by an evidence-based approach.

Mark

IOC President's Closing Speech, London 1948

"We exercise our sport not only for the joy we obtain and for the physical advantages it gives us, but also to improve the physical health of our nation."

Sigfrid Edström