The Secretary's Challenge Kick Off Event

Good morning. Thank you Marc Wolfson for that kind introduction and for setting such a great example of what you can do when you put your mind to it. I appreciate all your dedication and passion you show at work every day.

I like someone that's enthusiastic. Someone who gets up and says I can do something about my problem. And Marc, you've done it. And anyone that's overweight can do something about it. I was overweight. I still am, but I am doing something about it. Like Marc has indicated, he was a smoker and overweight and decided to do something about that. It takes an inner-self. Marc has that.

I would also like to thank Tracy Self, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs; Melissa Johnson, our new Executive Director of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness; Carrie Loy, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff; Commander Penny Royall, who formerly led the President's Council and just did a wonderful job; and Wendy Riemann, Staff Assistant in the office of Public Affairs; and their Challenge Committee for all the hard work they have put into organizing this kick-off event and the Challenge. I would also like to thank all of you for being here.

We are gathered here to kick off Prevention Week and celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Health and Wellness Center. You all know that disease prevention and health promotion are absolute top priorities for me as Secretary. And I am extremely grateful for all your hard work in helping me accomplish these goals for the Department and the United States at large. Each and every day, we help millions of Americans across the United States live strong, healthy, and independent lives.

Back in the late 1980s, when I was elected governor of the state of Wisconsin, my state was the most obese state in America. We like our milk, bratwurst and cheese. Those foods are great, but you need to use them in moderation. Almost twenty years later, in 2001, Wisconsin ranked 14th. Unfortunately, that didn't mean my wonderful people in Wisconsin were slimming down, or a healthier bratwurst hit the market - the problem was and continues to be, the rest of the nation is catching up and even surpassing Wisconsin in being overweight and obese.

Before 1991, no state had an obesity rate higher than 14 percent. Today, every state except Colorado has an obesity rate higher than 15 percent. We must do something about that, ladies and gentleman. It's just not right.

Today, we drink twice as much soda as milk.

Today, 51 percent of children and teenagers don't eat fruit every day and 29 percent don't eat even one vegetable each day, unless it is fried.

That tells us something. We are not eating healthy and we're not exercising. We have become an obese and overweight society.

And today, overweight or obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. 300,000 of our fellow citizens die each year, and cost the American taxpayers $117 billion dollars. That is $400 each and every person, because our neighbors, friends and ourselves aren't eating fruits and vegetables, and dieting, and getting exercise.

These are absolutely frightening statistics. And with nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population being overweight or obese those numbers will continue to climb.

We spend 1.4 trillion dollars on health care each year, of which, 75 percent is spent treating chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, overweight and obesity, as well as tobacco-related illnesses. Many of these diseases are partially or fully avoidable if people just practice a little bit of moderation and prevention.

It makes much more sense to prevent your body from breaking in the first place than it does to wait until you are sick in order to get it fixed. You know this and you know we have been working to change from a disease treatment to a disease prevention system.

And every day we continue to make progress with our prevention message. But this is not just the Department that take's care of every one else's health. This is also the Department that must take care of its own health. Afterall, Health is our first name.

It is our responsibility to set an example of good health for other federal agencies and the nation. You have all heard me say that I put this department on a diet. HHS needs to do more than talk the talk; we need to calibrate our pedometers and walk the walk.

I am always telling other cabinet secretaries, and even the President, that I have the best employees in the federal government working for me. And it's true. I love and care about each and every one of you and I want you to be healthy, happy and to live long lives. But some of us aren't taking as good of care of our health as we need to be.

That is why I am formally announcing a Challenge to all of employees - the Secretary's Steps to a HealthierHHS Challenge.

Today, I am challenging all HHS employees in the Southwest Complex to engage in moderate physical active for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for the six-week period of September 22 through October 31. If you are already active, like Marc, that's great. Keep up the good work, but if you aren't being physically active on a regular basis, it is time to get moving!

You can keep track of your daily progress using the website the President launched over the summer in Dallas. The web address is www.presidentschallenge.org.

This six-week period will hopefully give you just the encouragement you need to continue making physical active a daily habit. You can judge and gage yourself and find out how you're doing.

And, as a little extra motivation, all your various divisions will be challenging each other to see which divisions can have the highest percentage of its employees complete the Challenge. Who knows, there may even be awards at the end for all those who complete the six-weeks Challenge and the divisions with the best participation percentage.

Awards are always nice, but I don't want you to complete this Challenge for me. I want you to complete this Challenge for yourself. I want you to complete this Challenge for your family, and the people that love you, and want you to be with them for a very, very long time. If you are worried about the time commitment, combine your physical activity with your family time. Join the children next time they play soccer outside or take your wife or husband out for a walk in the park. Or grab a buddy at work and go for a walk. Or get on a bicycle. Washington, D.C. has some lovely trails around here. Just get on a bicycle for 10 or 15 miles or go for a walk around your neighborhood. You'll find out you have some good neighbors, who want to meet you.

If doing a minimum of 30 minutes of consecutive physical activity is too much for you at first, break it up. Take a 10-minute walk in the morning, take a 10-minute walk at lunch, and take a 10-minute walk when you get home. But while you're walking - don't be eating a hotdog or a corndog - walk, and walk fast. Just make sure you are getting more physical activity into your daily routine and that it adds up to a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

There are so many issues that we deal with every day that we do not have total control over. But our health is different. The only person that can really improve your health is you. How you manage your health is something you have control over. You can take responsibility for what you eat and the amount of physical activity you do each and every day.

I encourage each and every one of you to join me in this Challenge and help me create a healthier HHS. After the six-week Challenge, we'll go department-wide and then we want to compete against other departments and show them how to improve their health.

Now, I would like to introduce Calvin Nophlin. Over 20 years ago, Calvin spearheaded the creation of the HHS Fitness Center, or what is now known as the Health and Wellness Center. Calvin worked at the Department until retiring in 1997. He taught people how to engage in proper physical activity and was always there when anyone needed his help. I would like to invite him up here to say a few words about his experiences. And then I want to be able to present an award to him.

Last Revised: November 21, 2003