Appoint Tom Brady and Martina Navratilova as ‘health czars’ to fight the obesity epidemic

Many people in our nation seem to have been intimidated into ignoring or remaining silent regarding our greatest health care crisis: obesity.

Realizing that, I was reminded of an incredibly worthwhile program made famous by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s: The President’s Council on Physical Fitness. A subject his nephew — and current independent candidate for president — RFK Jr. clearly knows a great deal about, based upon his workout regimen. 

As the United States grows more obese by the day, it may be a program worth bringing back. Especially if it can be headed up by names the American people will listen to and respect. 

I was further reminded of the desperate need for a reintroduction of the Council on Physical Fitness while on a recent visit to Disney World. After my wife went off to visit a few shops, I found a bench off to the side and people watched. What I saw truly shocked and worried me.

Over the course of the next hour, literally thousands of men, women and children walked past me. By my own educated guess, it appeared that somewhere around 70 percent of the park attendees were overweight, with about 30 percent of that number being obese and about 20 percent being morbidly obese. What was most alarming was seeing so many overweight or outright obese children.

This is not only a national epidemic, but a national health emergency that is putting a tremendous strain on our healthcare system. Unfortunately, it is an emergency that has been politicized in a very irresponsible and dangerous way by some on the left.

Should obese Americans suffering multiple health issues caused by excessive weight be treated with compassion and respect? Of course. But, they should also be … treated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 71 percent of adults are overweight or obese, and 80 percent of adults don’t meet physical activity guidelines.

Note to those on the left who have equated discussing this epidemic to “fat shaming.” These are not statistics; they are potential death sentences-in-waiting.

To that point, the CDC notes that people who are obese have a much higher risk of heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and other chronic conditions that cut life short. A study from Columbia University found that obesity was the cause of more than 20 percent of deaths among women and 15 percent among men — a percentage that equates to over 1,300 deaths per day and approximately 500,000 per year.

Our nation’s obesity epidemic is now also a national security threat. Recent studies report that approximately 66 percent of our military is now overweight or obese. One-third of young adults are now too overweight to even enlist in the military. And in case you have not looked lately, the obesity trend also manifests itself across our police and fire departments.

Recently, while discussing this issue with a liberal friend of mine, I pulled out a copy of my high school yearbook. Not only did it have photos of every senior, but of every class in the school. Out of the thousand or so students in the school, not one was overweight. Not one.

To that, my liberal friend — who does equate talking about obesity with “fat shaming” — said: “So what. That was a few decades ago.”

Really? So, a few decades ago it was normal to be in shape but now, in 2024, we must not only totally ignore the obesity epidemic, but inversely normalize it in ads, movies and shows to show how inclusive we are? Some on the left lose their minds if a character in a movie is smoking but, in the name of political correctness, will ignore an epidemic that is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. 

So what’s a nation to do when so many in charge of our media, academia and entertainment not only want to disregard the obesity epidemic, but attack those who dare to bring it up?

How about appointing two highly respected former professional athletes who have a history of staying in shape; eating healthy diets; and speaking out on the subject on a regular basis?

Those two people being seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Martina Navratilova, the winner of 18 singles majors and 31 doubles majors and considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Why Brady and Navratilova? Because both are highly intelligent; both earned everything they have in life; both are socially, culturally and politically aware; both have massive followings and widespread influence; and both constantly “walk the walk.” They live their lives by what they preach.

If anyone could circumvent the barriers foolishly erected to prevent the acknowledgment of our obesity health-care crisis and address it in a compassionate, intelligent and inclusive way, it would be Brady and Navratilova.

Should Brady and Navratilova be open to becoming our nation’s health czars, then I would suggest their first appearance in that much needed capacity should be with Bill Maher, the host of “Real Time” on HBO.

Why Maher? Because, for years he has very courageously tried to bring attention to the obesity epidemic in our nation. And every time he has, he has been viciously attacked by some on the left for the crime of “fat shaming.”

Serious question: Would some in our country rather have obese Americans literally pass away than acknowledge and treat this national emergency? It is our nation’s greatest health emergency. If we openly and humanely acknowledged this crisis, we could begin to save tens of thousands of lives per year. 

That we are intimidated into silence regarding the epidemic of obesity is an obscenity. Common sense, common decency and compassion can reverse the censoring dictates and change the narrative for the healthier.

Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.