Have we become a pill-popping society?
I just read that scientists are developing a pill to stop people from suffering heart attacks and strokes. The drug would be taken regularly by middle-aged men and women to prevent their arteries clogging up or developing fatal blockages in later life. Now granted, I have nothing against preventive medicine, honestly I don't. But I've been seeing a trend lately. If you watch much television, you've probably seen the pills that help you lose weight. There are pills for vitamins, meal replacements, headaches, colds, flu and even, um, sexual performance. Again, I have nothing against preventive medicine at all, that's not my point.
What I haven't seen though is anything that is promoting a HEALTHY life style. What I do see is a pill-popping, fast food, couch potato society. Most sit around at the office all day, and then sit around the TV at night. They eat at the closest fast food restaurant stuffing the latest burger they've seen on the commericals (who hasn't see the latest 'angus diet' commercials). They drink the latest 'diet soda' or 'low carb drink'. Then they wonder why the scale has inched up a few notches, their clothes a little tighter, and bulges where there shouldn't be. What you see a lot of this time of year is heart attacks from shoveling snow. Why do you think that is? I certainly don't ever expect TV to help promote getting off your butt and doing something. Ratings would go down and we can't have that.
According to the news release, “'Heart disease is the developed world's number one killer and even in the developing world it kills more people than malaria or Aids. 'We need to take urgent preventative action. Our pill - which will be ready for use in 10 years - will do just that.“. Think about that for a second.
Now again, don't misinterpret. If a pill can unblock arteries, or prevent them from getting clogged, and it will help save lives, I'm all for it. There are certain genetic dispositions that are susceptible or prone to heart disease no matter what they do. If we can figure out how to reverse that, I'm all for it. But again, what about diet and exercise? I haven't seen but a few commercials this year (and you would think the fitness freaks would be taking advantage of all of the new resolutions) promoting exercise. I can guarantee you that if you can get past the “12 week sticker”, you're on your way to a healthier life style. The 12 week sticker is what experts say is the minimum amount of time to get your body used to a new change, whether it be diet or exercise. Most don't make it to that point because they don't see results, so they give up and quit. If you read the exercise rags, they all tell the 'regulars' to avoid the gym during peak hours the month of January and come back in February. Why? We've become a pill-popping, fast food, couch potato society that expects to see problems solved within the time it takes to watch a TV program. Most will stop going to the gym after the first month.
I'll give you the key to reduced heart risk without pills. It will reduce high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar without using drugs or the latest pill (with less chance of side effects). The key is to get off your butt and DO something. Start a regular exercise program and quit stopping at the fast food joints. Is it easy, no. Is it better for you, yes. Why don't more people do it then? We've become a pill-popping, fast food, couch potato society.
I've got a message to the scientists. STOP MAKING IT EASY TO BE LAZY.