As reported in today's issue of Capitol Report, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for CNN, is rumored to be the Obama Administration's top choice for Surgeon General. His appointment could be good for the fitness industry. He's a supporter of healthy lifestyles and helped to bring the issue to millions of American's through the 2008 Fit Nation series. Having someone in public health who is a proponent of exercise in a prominent public office is almost always a good thing.
Since the news broke yesterday, blogs across the web have been taking up the idea of a CNN correspondent in such a high profile government position. The New York Times Well Blog had a great round-up of some of the commentary. My favorite of the bunch: “Public health needs a rock star.” It comes from the Technology, Health & Development blog. The author makes a great point that "rock stars" such as Bono, Bill Gates and Bill Clinton have helped to shed light on the global health crisis. Maybe Dr. Gupta could do the same for public health issues here in the US while building bridges between government policy, global initiatives, and the average American.
In terms of connecting with the average American, I don't think you could do much better. He's known by the millions of people who watch CNN and CBS. To put it in simple terms, he's got street cred. Given all of the years, effort and funds that have been channeled towards public health maybe we need someone like Dr. Gupta to really help move people towards making the hard changes neccessary to break the bad (but oh so easy to pick up) habits that hinder so many from leading a healthy lifestyle. On that same level, I think having the American public witness President-Elect Obama's regular gym visits will also raise the profile of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.
There are clearly many changes on the horizon in Washington. Maybe a new public health rock star will be one of them.
- Breanne McGahey
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