READER FEEDBACK
With her new position, should the surgeon general lose weight?
Kimberly Garrison: For new surgeon general to lead us, it should be by example
READERS HAD plenty to say regarding last week's column on comedian Mo'Nique's weight loss, and I thank you for sharing in the dialogue.
This week, as promised, the subject is the other controversial sister of size who's been hitting the headlines lately: President Obama's pleasingly plump nominee for surgeon general, Regina Benjamin.
Critics have been less than kind to Benjamin, saying that she's just too fat to serve as the nation's top doc. There's also been some controversy over the revelation that Benjamin has been a paid adviser to fast-food giant Burger King.
Obama's appointment certainly has raised many questions and nasty issues.
What's a surgeon general, anyway?
Sadly and ironically, many Americans who are complaining about the nominee's girth probably don't even know what the surgeon general does.
I did a quick survey of my own and no one could tell me precisely what the job's duties are or who holds the position.
The surgeon general is the nation's top public-health physician. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site: "The Surgeon General serves as America's chief health educator by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.
"Moreover, the Surgeon General is the Commander of the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. In short, the Surgeon General is responsible for promoting, protecting and advancing the health and safety of the people of the United States."
Oh yeah, it's a big job, and a big deal.
Benjamin's credentials
Benjamin, a 52-year-old family-practice doctor, has spent the majority of her career providing care to the underserved and poor communities in a Gulf Coast clinic in Alabama.
She received a bachelor's degree in 1979 from Xavier University of Louisiana, attended Morehouse School of Medicine from 1980 to 1982 and received a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1984. In 1987, Benjamin completed her residency in family practice at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.
So she has the credentials, but there's more to recommend her, too.
When people couldn't pay for her services, she didn't charge them, Obama has said, calling Benjamin "a relentless promoter" of programs to fight preventable illness.
"When the clinic wasn't making money, she didn't take a salary for herself," he said.
On the personal front, Benjamin knows all too well the price we pay when prevention is not practiced. During her nomination speech, she cited the personal toll that the lack of preventive medical care had taken on her family: Her father died as a result of diabetes and high blood pressure; her older brother and only sibling died at 44 of an HIV-related illness; her mother died of lung cancer; her mother's twin brother could not attend her nomination speech because he was at home "struggling for each breath" after a lifetime of smoking.
"I cannot change my family's past," she said, "but I can be a voice to improve our nation's health for the future."
No doubt, Benjamin's qualifications are "all that," and her personal experiences have shaped her to be more committed and compassionate than most.
And it's true she doesn't need to look like Beyoncé (though that might not be a bad idea when you consider the mass influence the entertainer has). But Benjamin could do much better when it comes to her own health.
Can't you just imagine the new surgeon general infecting the nation with energy and enthusiasm as she led us in daily televised aerobic workouts and shared her healthy, portion-controlled menus online?
This nomination offers, at the minimum, a teachable moment. At the maximum, Benjamin has an opportunity to lead the nation out of the obesity quagmire. What a legacy that would be.
Benjamin may prove to be the most influential (if not well-known) surgeon general of them all. But, as good parents and successful leaders know from experience, actions speak louder than words.
A "do as I say, not as I do" approach is rarely effective.
So, Dr. Benjamin, I am afraid that leading by example is the only way to go, no matter how arduous the task.
Let's raise the bar and demand that the surgeon general nominee up her game - not only talk the talk, but walk the walk as well.
Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com). E-mail her at
kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo!
