don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

"The whole imposing edifice of modern medicine, for all its breathtaking successes, is, like the celebrated Tower of Pisa, slightly off balance. It is frightening how dependent on drugs we are all becoming and how easy it is for doctors to prescribe them as the universal panacea for our ills. "  --Prince Charles

Most people today who have any sense whatsoever know that there is no universal or other panacea for anything, not drugs, herbs, vitamins or other tonics for whatever ails you and certainly not for optimal health or wellness. Most have some understanding of the term "panacea," which basically is a Greek word meaning "universal remedy." Many centuries ago, starting with the Greeks (naturally, since it's their word!), various charlatans would assert that certain herbs were panaceas, able to cure all diseases. While the "cures" did not turn out so well, the word for the promises of amazing interventions survived.

Today, the word is still used by charlatans for products or services alleged to cure anything or everything, but the word has evolved to mean much more. At present, the word panacea means "a remedy for all ills or difficulties--a cure all." As noted, most of us no longer take panacea claims of any kind seriously.

There might be one exception--vigorous exercise. OK, maybe it won't "cure all," but it sure as blazes will help mightily in preventing most slings and arrows of an outrageous fortune, at least for a while under certain conditions. Well, maybe I just watered down the promise of this semi-panacea just a bit from the magical herbs of yesteryear, but I do think exercise should be considered the closest thing under the sun to a panacea.

A recent CNN report (January 12, 2004) entitled "Fitness reshapes the bottom line" suggests a continental shift in the way employers are beginning to embrace employee exercise and fitness as assets for a healthy (profitable) business. One executive enthused about exercise for the workforce, and almost ventured into panacea territory: "If you've got a healthy and productive workforce you should have a healthy and productive company." Well, other things being the same, that might be true.

The shift in employer interest in this regard is sparked by the fact that the nation, and thus the American workforce, is being laid low by an epidemic of obesity, which reflects the absence of much exercise. England is not doing so well, either. Apparently, that country suffered 18 million sick-days in 2001 -- the equivalent of 40,000 lost working years. When you consider that a lot of work could be done in 40,000 years, that's a pretty amazing statistic. In this country, with more than half the population overweight (64 percent) and medical costs to business reported in 2003 to have reached $117 billion a year (source: former Surgeon General David Satcher), companies are looking to exercise as the Greeks looked to herbs thousands of years ago--as a magic elixir. As elixirs go, exercise has a lot going for it!

So, why is exercise seen as (almost) a panacea? Quite simply, it's because the claims made for it as a "tonic" of sorts, certain to reduce health risks and promote life quality, are so extensive, astonishing AND well supported by documented, reliable evidence. Exercise and fitness, unlike the Greek tonic panaceas and all the modern day bogus varieties of magical cures, are backed by a wealth of scientific studies indicating that this near panacea (almost) makes good on all the improbable promises! That is an amazing distinction that should be taken seriously by anyone seeking a panacea equivalent, myself included. (Hey, why ignore anything this good?)

The CNN report cites investigations that show exercise (done at sufficient levels of duration, time and intensity) not only reduces the risks of tens of dozens of ailments (starting with obesity, the disease du jour) but is beneficial in proactive ways for employers, such as better employee attention spans, sleep patterns and ability to cope with the manifold stresses of the work place.

My friend Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. just begins to identify the range of payoffs when she provides a list of 119 ways that exercise benefits people physically and mentally. However, if you want a listing, Susan's list is a good starter set--click on this website. Susan does not suggest there are ONLY 119 ways that exercise benefits people. Instead, she provides a starter set of motivators. I could add another that Susan was probably too shy to mention: A workout is the opposite of casual sex. You may dread it beforehand, but you always feel great afterward.

Of special interest in this context are the reliable studies that show hard dollar and cent benefits of company investments in promoting this exercise semi-panacea. One report in the American Journal of Health Promotion noted a reduction in health insurance and other healthcare costs at a remarkable payoff ratio of $3.48 gained for every $1 spent on worksite wellness. Among the companies reporting are Fortune 500 giants such as Dupont, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills and Pfizer.

The report on January 6 of this year that health care costs increased 15 percent to the level of $1.6 trillion ($5400 per man, woman and child in America), combined with the growing attention to the panacea-like potentials of exercise and fitness, suggests that something is going to give--soon. I predict it will be the waistline of employees who take advantage of growing opportunities to exercise on company time and dime. Of course, there is a downside to all this, at least to those who are and plan to remain exercise-averse. Unless they are nearly indispensable, they may get the old ship out heave-ho if they don't shape up.

So, my advice is to embrace the closest thing there is to a panacea on a daily basis--and exercise. While you're at it, look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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