Participants: Don Mckintosh (Host), Williams Dewitt
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000180
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00:01 The following program presents principles designed
00:03 to promote good health and is not intended to take 00:06 the place of personalized professional care. 00:08 The opinions and ideas expressed 00:10 are those of the speaker. 00:12 Viewers are encouraged to draw their own conclusion about 00:15 the information presented. 00:49 Hello and welcome to Health for A Lifetime, 00:51 I am your host Don Mackintosh. We are glad you joined us today 00:54 We have an interesting and I think a very important program. 00:57 We are going to be talking about African-American health 01:00 or African health. In other words, 01:02 the black race verses the white race in terms of health needs. 01:05 And joining us to talk about this important subject is 01:09 Dr. DeWitt Williams, he is the director of the 01:13 Health Ministries department for the North American 01:15 Division of Seventh-day Adventists. 01:18 Welcome Doctor. Good to be here, thank you. 01:20 And thank you, for the work that you do around the world 01:23 in equipping people. First around the world 01:25 now more the North American Division and equipping people. 01:28 to be involved in health ministries. 01:31 I mean Seventh-day Adventists when we hear about them 01:34 they are known for a couple of things, the Sabbath 01:36 and then health. That's right. 01:37 I mean that's just normal isn't it. That's right. 01:40 And today you're going to talk with us about you know 01:44 the difference in racial, what we say problems 01:48 with disease. That's right. 01:50 and so many times we don't make that distinction 01:53 but we need to. Are there differences? 01:56 There are differences, I was born 01:57 in the slums of South Philadelphia. 01:59 I tell people and I didn't realize when I was growing up. 02:04 That they were differences but I want to show 02:07 on the slide here that of the fifteen leading causes 02:10 of death in the United States. For the first 15, 02:14 next slide you can see that there are excess deaths 02:19 among African-Americans. In heart disease 02:23 the African men 27 % higher excess deaths, 02:28 with women 55% higher. For strokes, and for diabetes 02:34 and kidney, you could see them all, septicemia, these are 02:37 these are and in all of those areas of African-Americans 02:41 have excess deaths. Excess deaths. Okay, 02:44 so these are leading causes of death for most Americans. 02:46 That's right. But when you look at the African-American 02:49 they're even more exaggerated in terms of number of people 02:53 that die. Exactly, 02:54 in the next slide you can see that for the only one that 02:57 we have less would be of course suicide, Alzheimer's 03:01 Aortic Aneurysm and respiratory diseases. 03:04 So, in other words. We don't commit a lot of suicides. 03:08 Whites are higher death rate in the respiratory, 03:11 the Alzheimer's, the suicide and as well as others but 03:13 everything else, the black or the African-American its higher. 03:17 That's right, and also I didn't have up there, but lupus we have 03:22 more lupus, and sickle cell anemia and more AIDS and 03:26 addictions, about 75 percent of all heroin addicts 03:30 are African-Americans. 03:31 So there are diseases that ravage the African-American 03:36 community in North America. 03:37 Now, are these inherited? Some of them are, 03:41 and some of them aren't, I think for example the 03:44 addictions in the age and so forth, their inherited 03:49 you know you can pass down through genes, 03:51 and you can pass down genetic traits, but you can 03:54 also pass down lifestyles. Uh-uh! 03:56 And so in a sense they are all inherited. 03:59 You and I were talking, and you were sharing with me 04:02 that many times this is not however just because someone 04:05 is black or white, they are socioeconomic factors. 04:09 That's right, you look at Katrina, for example. 04:13 And. The hurricane. The hurricane, 04:17 the people in the super dome who got caught were those 04:21 who didn't have enough money to get out in their SUV 04:24 and so forth. So, many times, and 04:27 I think I have a slide there that shows us many times 04:30 black people get caught in the conditions that they are 04:36 brought up in, they can't get out of that. 04:39 Okay, so in other words it's just not an issue 04:41 of being black or white. Sometimes it's the 04:47 the accessibility of things that could help us be healthier. 04:48 That's right, many of the black people 04:50 don't have insurance. They don't have coverage 04:55 to go in. I go every year 04:56 to get my teeth. I go twice a year like 04:59 they say you should do. To get it cleaned and get them 05:02 cleaned and so forth but how many black people go 05:05 and get their teeth cleaned every year twice. 05:08 So, you know I think we have a graphic looking 05:11 at the disparity in dental care, work us through that. 05:15 Well, as you can see here in the number of visits 05:20 that for white people number of visits 33, 05:28 untreated cavities 24, and you could see the blacks it's 43 05:32 It's just higher. And the Hispanics it's possibly even 05:35 higher in some sense and many of the studies 05:39 are showing now that the condition of your teeth 05:43 has a lot to do with the condition of your body 05:46 Uh-uh! The bacteria that are on your teeth 05:48 can migrate down to your heart and can migrate to different 05:52 parts of your body. So keep your teeth clean 05:57 and repair it as an index to your health. 06:02 Alright! I mean every dentist watching would be very happy 06:04 with you doctor. Hey look and you know 06:07 I know you have more of that, we won't look 06:09 you made the point, in other words 06:11 it's not just an issue of being black or white. 06:15 Sometime it has to do with it's socio-economic disparity 06:19 and kind of the situation may be we inherit 06:21 not physically speaking but you know socio-economically, 06:26 but you want to make a point I think in this program that, 06:29 hey there is something that's going to help every culture. 06:34 That's right. And we're gonna move into that 06:36 what's the big thing we can do no matter what color 06:38 our skin is? I believe that God made 06:41 human beings to move for action, for movement 06:46 and we hear people talking about an epidemic of obesity 06:49 especially among black people. Well, the epidemic of obesity 06:52 is actually an epidemic of inactivity. And 06:56 we've got to learn to move. There is an old Chinese 07:00 proverb that says, every man has two doctors 07:03 the right leg and the left leg. 07:05 Okay. Use them everyday. 07:07 And so I believe that if African-American, black people 07:09 will use the exercise that, the ability to exercise, then 07:15 a lot of this disease that we have, this disparity 07:18 would disappear. 07:19 Now, you worked for a time in Africa and you told me that 07:23 when your over there you weren't really moving like you should. 07:28 Well, I was an administrator, 07:29 I was a president. Listen up administrators. 07:32 You know, I looked administrative. I had 07:35 gained some weight and I looked administrative. 07:37 I came back, and they called me into the Health and Temperance 07:40 department, it was called at that time. 07:42 And I started reading the book The Ministry of Healing 07:44 and you Mrs. White talks about moving. 07:46 And I said if I am going to be in this department 07:49 I'm going to have to move. Now did they pick you 07:50 because they think you needed the department. 07:53 No, I don't think so. Right. But it actually saved my life 07:57 You know when I first came in. I started to, I got a call 08:01 from Trinidad, they wanted me to be in 08:03 our, in a half marathon. They said we want you 08:06 as a one of the you know, in the department 08:08 to come in and lead out in the half marathon. 08:11 So, I figured, I said well, you know, 08:13 I better start training, this was maybe in 08:16 I guess I would say December. And so, I started training 08:20 a little bit, and I called my friend Jim Istre 08:23 and I said Jimmy, I said I need to get up to a 08:25 half marathon is 12.1 miles. 08:28 And he said, well, you know, 08:29 if we run on the track, he said I am going to leave you, 08:32 so he says, if you run on the street 08:34 and I am going to leave you, come and run on the track 08:35 and that's what I did. And he would run around 08:38 and passed me, as I went walking 08:39 but you should know I kept on walking and kept on running 08:43 and kept on doing what I could by the time 08:45 that Marathon in April. I have moved up to four miles. 08:48 Also so like, was that one or two months 08:50 you moved up to four miles. Four miles running, jogging 08:53 four miles, so and then when I went to Trinidad 08:57 for the race, they put me up in the front of the race 08:59 and for the four miles I was good. 09:03 But after four miles, the little children were passing me 09:06 and old ladies and so forth 09:08 but the cameras weren't there anymore. 09:09 Cameras were there, but I did go back 09:12 and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1987. 09:15 Is that the Marines? The Green Corps, 26.2 mile Marathon. 09:20 Wow! So, we can, this, this, we can run, 09:24 we can go from where we are to some place where God wants 09:31 us to be. Well, that's the good news. 09:33 I mean, you're a living testimony that just because 09:36 you're not listening to the two doctors the right and 09:39 the left leg doesn't mean that's it you can move. 09:42 That's right. Great. 09:44 So, we really live in a culture where there is this kind 09:46 of epidemic of obesity. That's right. 09:49 And 60% percent of Americans are overweight and obese. 09:53 And I have a slide here called, the problem of obese inactivity 09:58 It is estimated that of the 250,000 deaths per year 10:02 in the United States, approximately 12% 10:04 of the total, are attributed to a lack 10:07 of regular physical activity. And so that causes 10:12 and you can see most people are sedentary. 10:14 Three out of four adults get little or no regular exercise. 10:18 And only 23% get regular, light moderate activity. 10:23 Only 12% get any regular vigorous activity. 10:27 So, the problem really is that the people are not moving. 10:29 It's an epidemic of inactivity, that's what this epidemic 10:34 of obesity is, and I think it's even more 10:37 among African-Americans because many of them 10:40 are trapped in the inner city, there is no mall that they can 10:42 go to, to walk. There are no pathways 10:45 in the city, not too many parks. 10:48 And so, they're trapped. And they come home 10:52 and they are unable to, they don't have money 10:55 many of them to buy treadmills and so forth 10:57 so they're trapped in their circumstances. 11:00 Now, you know I heard that the typical American 11:03 I think it was in 1901, or 19, early 1900's. 11:07 A typical American would walk, just because of 11:12 regular things they had to do, 11 miles a day. 11:16 I think that's correct, I look back at when I was growing up, 11:20 I wasn't in real early in 1900's I had to walk to school. 11:26 For five miles, I had to walk to school. 11:28 Uh-Uh! 11:29 And sometimes my father would take me to school. 11:30 Where we walk to school sometimes I follow him to 11:33 school. We were sent to the store we didn't, nobody drove 11:36 us down to the store, we had to walk to the store. 11:39 So five miles to school, and back from school. 11:43 Five miles. Or did you just stay there all week? I came home 11:46 to do my home work. So, the solution then is 11:49 regular exercise. That's right. 11:52 And if we could arrange in our schedule to do more things. 11:56 part further away, you know if we could arrange 12:01 to walk to a store every once in a while, 12:04 and in simply, in the intercity you can do that. 12:07 You can walk to many of the stores but sometimes its very, 12:10 very difficult to get there. So on the graphic you have 12:14 the solution is regular exercise, then you work us 12:17 through a list. Regular physical activity 12:19 reduces the risk for? For obesity, if we walked everyday 12:24 we would loss weight, high blood pressure 12:27 will come down, Heart disease and stroke 12:30 HDL is raised by, and that's the good cholesterol, 12:34 diabetes, in my mind diabetes is a disease of inactivity, 12:40 that's what diabetes is. Osteoporosis, 12:43 for strengthening of the bones we have definite links 12:47 of the exercise and colon cancer, and breast cancer 12:50 and the endorphins are secreted when we exercise, 12:54 God has actually placed in our minds and our bodies 12:59 a hormone that makes us feel good 13:01 and the endorphins that are secreted when we exercise 13:05 so we feel good. So we don't have the anxiety 13:07 or the depression that plagues us. Exactly. 13:10 So, all of it's just get out there and move. 13:14 Get out and move as much as you possibly can. 13:18 I have a graphic here, Physical activity level 13:20 and risk of heart disease and you can see that this 13:23 nurses study, these are nurses ladies that followed 13:27 72,000, it's a large group, 72,000 of them followed 13:31 for 8 years and go to the next one if you can, and you can 13:34 see that the heart attack risk dropped 54% in the most active 13:38 women and next one here and also there it is, you can see 13:42 the thing that interests me the most is the big 13:45 difference between the first line and the next. 13:48 Yes. They're just doing a little bit. 13:50 A little activity. Just a little activity will bring you down 13:54 and as you do more, they're separated into five quintiles. 13:58 and the most group of course had the least amount 14:04 of the heart disease. So, and nurses by the way 14:07 are usually very unhealthy people, 14:09 I am a nurse too, of course I am not a female 14:11 nurse but male nurses too are very, very unhealthy 14:15 like about 98% percent of them smoke, just really, you 14:19 would think that they are healthy 14:21 I mean, but many times they're not, 14:23 no. They are on their feet a lot. 14:25 Right. That is one good thing about the nurses, 14:29 and their feet. We're talking with 14:31 DeWitt Williams, he is the Health Ministries 14:34 Director for the North America Division of 14:38 Seventh Day Adventists he has 14:39 a worldwide perspective talks with you about health everyday 14:43 and when we come back we are going to be looking closer 14:45 at the solutions no matter what our race or gender is, 14:49 we are looking more closely at exercise, 14:52 join us when we come back. 14:53 Have you found yourself wishing you could shed a few pounds? 14:57 have you been on a diet for most of your life, but not found 15:01 anything that will really keep the weight off. If you've 15:04 answered yes to any of these questions, 15:06 then we have a solution for you that works. 15:09 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Eileen Ludington 15:11 have written a marvelous booklet called 15:13 'Reversing Obesity Naturally,' and we'd like to send it 15:17 to you free of charge. 15:18 Here is a medically sound approach successfully used 15:21 by thousands who are able to eat more and loose weight 15:24 permanently, without feeling guilty or hungry 15:27 through lifestyle medicine. 15:29 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN 15:32 and in this booklet they present a sensible approach 15:35 to eating, nutrition, and lifestyle changes, 15:38 they can help you to prevent heart disease, 15:40 diabetes, and even cancer. Call or write today, 15:43 for your free copy of Reversing obesity naturally 15:46 and you could be on your way to a healthier, happier you. 15:49 It's absolutely free of charge, so call or write today. 15:54 Welcome back we are talking with DeWitt Williams, 15:57 he is the Health Ministries director for 16:00 the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. 16:03 If you aren't familiar with how they are organized, 16:05 there is I think like 13 divisions maybe 14 now 16:09 as this church expands around the world 16:11 some 15 million, 20 million people attending on weekends 16:14 and it's a huge group of people that are known 16:18 basically for two things the Sabbath and Health 16:22 you're kind of leading out on their health aspect, 16:24 people are, that are coming into the church. 16:29 Many people coming into the church. 16:31 Thousands everyday are drawn many times by this message 16:36 of health and your primary role is to equip people 16:40 to do health ministries isn't it right. 16:43 First we want to get them to live it, 16:46 accept it and live it, share it with their families 16:49 and then share it with their family and friends. 16:51 Yes. So, for some people they come into the church 16:53 because of health things other people come in 16:56 maybe through evangelist meanings and they need to 16:58 be kind of disciplined in this area as well. 17:00 I mean this program will air you know at different times 17:04 but every year you have I have a flyer here. 17:07 You have a health summit I think one both 17:11 in the early part of the year January, 17:13 at the end of January, first part of February 17:15 and they you have another one depending on the year. 17:18 And again this will be aired a number times 17:20 but you do training sessions across the United States. 17:24 That's right, we do one in Florida 17:25 in the last week of January and the first week of December 17:30 it's a whole week of training and this year 17:33 we had about five hundred people to come to it. 17:35 We have started the one last year in Portland, Oregon. 17:40 We call it health summit west. 17:41 And we had three hundred people to come to that one. 17:44 So, and these people come, they get certified to be able 17:48 to do different health programs whether dealing 17:51 with depression or diabetes or heart, 17:53 all the major things that people deal with in America. 17:55 That's right, in Florida we are going to offer 17:58 about 25 different programs. Wow! Stop smoking program, 18:02 there is a diabetes program and fitness and exercise 18:05 program and I teach one on the smoking cessation. 18:09 There are 50 million people who are still smoking today, 18:11 so, we feel that when people actually do something 18:15 they not only help somebody but it re-enforces 18:20 their own commitment to this particular lifestyle 18:23 and Jesus you know he did actually more healing 18:27 then he did preaching. He did more teaching 18:30 and healing, then he did preaching and to find 18:33 just a few of his sermons but we have lots of his healings. 18:35 So, that's the method that we recommend. 18:37 Yeah, and you know, if people were interested 18:39 that they can contact the North American division 18:41 on the Internet, they can go to what's called the PlusLine. 18:44 And any year, I mean they can just 18:48 figure out what's happening, see what programs 18:50 and be a part of that. You know thank you for 18:53 doing that by the way. I think it's very neat. You were 18:55 one of our speakers remember about a year or so ago 18:57 we had you to be there, spoke everyday, people enjoyed 19:00 you and we need to get you to come again. 19:03 Alright, well I'll take you up on that, 19:05 so we have been talking though about African-American 19:09 or black, the black race verses the white race, 19:13 verses different races and some disparities 19:17 in the program, so far we have talked yet. 19:18 They're really are big problems in terms 19:21 the amount of people dying that are black verses 19:24 white from the killers that kill all of us. Right. 19:26 But what you've suggested is, yeah you can look at that 19:30 but really there's something that all races need 19:33 and that is exercise, and we want to continue that 19:36 I think you have some other things you want to share 19:39 about the importance of exercise then hopefully 19:41 at the end you give us some particle ways 19:43 you have already said you ran a marathon 19:45 what was impressive to me, I've never done that. 26.2 miles. 19:50 And the interesting thing is when you compare 19:52 African-Americans with Africans, who do get a 19:56 lot of exercise you will find out that they don't 19:59 for the majority African's are not overweight, 20:02 you see in the runners from Kenya who run. Always wine. 20:05 always win, they win too. 20:07 But they are thin and the majority of Africans are not 20:14 overweight and their jobs make them work 20:18 the economy where they live, they are poor also. 20:22 But the economy keeps them walking, keeps them moving 20:26 and they don't have the diseases that we have, 20:29 the African-Americans have you don't, 20:30 you really hear of an African who has a diabetes 20:35 or a heart disease or many of these diseases 20:37 which we are talking about they don't have 20:39 they are our ancestors. 20:42 So, it don't have to be, it's not a genetic thing, 20:44 it's a lifestyle thing, I believe so. 20:47 Now, they are some diseases I think that we do inherit, 20:49 that is genetic basically the African-American 20:53 has his skin color locks out a lot of the rays of the sun. 21:00 And he doesn't get vitamin D that much 21:04 ultra violent light is not absorbed 21:07 and so there are diseases like the, sickle cell, 21:15 we got a problem with sickle cell and lupus 21:19 what the disease I want to mention prostrate cancer 21:21 for example. 21:22 We have high rates of prostate cancer and I believe 21:24 basically is because we don't get enough vitamin D 21:27 and sunshine but back to exercise. 21:30 Back to exercise here in America. 21:31 I have a slide, physical activity and blood pressure. 21:34 Okay, And you can see that among those who are 21:38 really fit that low fit, I think 21:42 it should be just the opposite there. 21:43 But the low fit well, that's deaths, 21:48 more deaths you can see among those who have low fat. 21:50 That's right, that's the deaths you can see that, 21:52 the next line you can see risk of diabetes 21:55 changes also, with you can see that as the activity 22:03 increases you can see that deaths decrease 22:08 and then overall health, my next slide, 22:11 moderate activity and health and you can see that 22:14 when there moderate activity and health you can see 22:17 that really unfit more deaths moderately fit 22:22 and that's you can see very nicely they are just 22:25 doing a moderate amount of exercise brings you 22:27 down from 64% down to 26%. That's mortality rate. 22:32 The 64% of the 26%. That's right, mortality rate 22:36 and then if you're super fit you're just 6% less 22:40 you knows like just 6% difference. 22:43 So the biggest difference is from 22:44 becoming unfit to moderately. In another words you don't have 22:47 to do a marathon for the Marines like you did. 22:50 That's right but if they're walking around the track 22:52 with their friend what was his name? Jimmy? Jim Istre. 22:57 Jim Istre, they're walking around the track, they are going 22:59 to get a lot of benefits from that. 23:02 They have to plan it in, and this what I do now 23:04 as I plan in my exercise. 23:06 Once I realize how important exercise was 23:09 to me then I have actually made it a part 23:12 of my daily routine, just like I get up 23:15 in the morning and eat my breakfast and go to work, 23:19 and have my devotions and so far. 23:21 Exercise now is a part of my routine. 23:25 And the first thing I do, when I get up in the morning 23:27 'cause I need sometimes some of those days 23:29 when I get up its cold, it's rainy and so forth, 23:33 so I do it early in the morning, when my will 23:35 is very, very strong. I go out and I do my 23:38 two miles, sometime three miles and four miles 23:41 but at least two miles a day. So the message is 23:45 do it first, get it out of the way. 23:47 That's right, and but know that 23:49 you are benefiting from it, now I have another slide 23:52 here in strength and flexibility. 23:54 Okay. I include three sessions per week 23:58 where I lift weights, now the walking 24:01 is aerobic. And what's it help? 24:03 Strength and flexibility helps what Will. 24:05 It helps us in protecting gives strong 24:09 backs, it helps us to be 24:11 our bone density to be better bone density. 24:16 It prevents loss of muscle mass 24:18 improve the figure and physique 24:21 and it prevents disability with old age. 24:24 Now, the muscle masses this is the thing 24:26 I want to talk about the most. Most people as they age 24:29 they lose muscle, they have atrophy of their muscles 24:32 and muscles burn more calories. 24:36 Okay, muscles burn more calories. 24:38 once you start losing your muscles 24:40 you start getting a little heavier 24:43 because your not burning as many calories. 24:44 And so, you want to lift about. Helps your figure 24:48 and physique too. 24:49 The figure and physique, you feel that suit up nicely, 24:51 well, exactly. Exactly, so right so 24:55 weight training and some of these sculpting exercises 24:59 sometimes they do Pilates or different kind of things, 25:02 that's good. 25:03 I don't you a whole lot of the Pilates and 25:05 so, but we do have gym. Okay. A little physical fitness room 25:09 at the general conference and we have may be 25:10 15 or 16 machines and I go on do all of 25:14 how many of the brethren there are in 25:15 there working out. 25:16 Well, when I go down at 3 O'clock not too many 25:19 of them are there, but after- wards the room is pretty busy, 25:22 we have some treadmills there and we have and 25:26 I want to you about specific departments. 25:27 No, don't ask me about specific department, but we do, 25:30 we do a lot of exercising and I tried to get, 25:36 I send out around my notices and try to get people down 25:38 there two or three times a week. 25:39 Now, use of pedometer. Yes, the pedometer 25:42 now the advantage of a pedometer 25:45 and I usually I have mine, but I lost mine. 25:47 The advantage of a pedometer 25:49 if you know accurately how many steps you have taken 25:53 and you start off trying to target 2000 steps 26:00 a day, that what you want to do, 26:01 that's a pedometer and go to Wal-Mart 26:03 and get a little cheap pedometer. 26:05 I lose mine, they clip on you belt 26:07 and you bend over they pop off, 26:10 so focus on getting your 2000 miles, 26:13 2000 steps, 2000, I mean you are in good. 26:16 Oh! Get your 2000 steps and you want to move 26:19 up to 10,000 steps. So, a day? 26:23 a day, 10,000 steps is where you want to be. 26:25 So, when your wife says go out and do this, you say 26:27 thank you honey I need 700 more steps. That's right. 26:30 And you'd be surprised to know 26:32 when I first put up my pedometer I thought I was doing 26:35 a lot of walking in my day because I parked my 26:38 car far away, it came back, and was doing about 4,000 steps. 26:42 Oh! Oh! So then I, that's why 26:44 I do my two miles in the morning 26:46 when I go out, that gives me about 4,000 steps 26:48 to begin with. Now your a man of faith, 26:51 your a minister as well as you know the 26:54 health ministries director of North American division. 26:55 There was statement from Ellen White 26:58 that really gripped you, I think you want a close 26:59 with that right. And let's look at that, 27:02 this is Ellen White, she says all who can possibly 27:07 do so ought to walk in the open air everyday, summer 27:13 and winter and it continues, a walk 27:17 even in winter would be more beneficial for the health 27:21 then all the medicines that doctors may prescribe. 27:25 That's right on top on the list there, 27:27 isn't that right, she says its better than 27:28 any of those medicines those doctors 27:30 write in the prescription. So, the message today 27:33 is no matter what race you are the best thing 27:36 is exercise you know thank you so much, 27:37 first of all what you do as the health ministries 27:41 director and educating and thank you also for your 27:44 personal testimony of taking your message seriously. 27:48 Thank you it's good to be here, 27:49 I hope the message helped somebody to get moving. 27:52 I am sure it will and you watching 27:55 why not get out there and get on the move. |
Revised 2014-12-17