to keep the body in good health is a duty

The first response I receive from people when they realize that I pursued a career in obesity prevention is “Why obesity?” And, it was kind of by chance. In college I was diagnosed with heart disease after I collapsed on the court during a volleyball pre-season fitness test. I ended up in the hospital for supraventricular tachycardia and underwent a cardiac ablation procedure. Though I forfeited a year of playing Division 1 volleyball, I was fortunate to fully recover and return back to an active lifestyle. But, it was my overnight stay in the cardiac intensive care unit that really influenced my decision to pursue a career in obesity. I looked around and realized that many people were overweight or obese and consequently suffering from high blood pressure or heart disease. It became obvious to me what a serious health issue obesity had become. My original career choice of being a sports broadcaster changed and I focused the remainder of my undergraduate degree in Communications on analyzing the marketing and media influence of food and beverage choices. I was particularly interested in those targeting children.

why I’d love for my patients to join me

I’ve reached some interesting places simply by putting one foot in front of the other: remote villages in my native Philippines, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, a motley assortment of concrete jungles throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Sometimes, I walk to reduce my carbon footprint. Other times, I’m burning off my last caloric indulgence or justifying the next one. More often, I walk to share the experience with a friend. In my more meditative moments, I walk because I imagine myself darting across streets like a little needle, pulling a thread that connects one corner of the world to another.

ensuring a healthier generation

Be it as elementary school principal or middle school assistant principal in the Woonsocket Education Department, my top priority was always to assure parents of the safest, most supportive, healthy learning environment for their child. My guiding educational philosophy has always been that parents and family are the primary teachers of a child with the local school community serving in an important, supportive, secondary role to expand each child’s knowledge.

positive steps in cessation and tobacco control

Those of us who work in the field of tobacco cessation paradoxically measure our successes in negative terms: decreased number of cigarettes smoked, quit attempts, lower rates of hospitalization, area smoking bans enforced. Yet, each time someone makes an attempt to stop smoking, they are taking a huge positive step forward in their lives. They are choosing improved health for themselves, their families, and their community.

As a nurse for almost thirty years, I have witnessed, first-hand, the devastation tobacco use wreaks on individuals and their families. On a healthcare systems level, I have an acute awareness of the immense financial and resource cost of treating tobacco-related diseases. These were my initial motivators for getting involved in cessation and tobacco control.