OBESITY FIGHT NOW PERSONAL FOR HHS CHIEF; THOMPSON PUTS HIMSELF, DEPARTMENT ON A DIET

The Washington Post
By Ceci Connolly
March 12, 2004

The first things to go were the late-night pilgrimages to the Dubliner Restaurant for burgers and beer. Then he gave up sweets, bread and his beloved potatoes -- perhaps the ultimate sacrifice for this particular Irishman.

But in a town where perception is everything, the man leading President Bush's health team knew 210 pounds was just a little too much Cabinet secretary.

"When I came in here and saw so many fat people in the department, I said, 'We're the department of health, and the only way we can really be credible on the thing is to start looking the part and start exercising,' " explained Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services. "So I put the whole department on a diet. Then I says, 'I can't put the department on a diet without myself losing weight.' So I took it upon myself to lose 15 pounds."

And he did. In nine months, following what he calls the "modified Tommy Thompson diet" and exercise program, he slimmed down to 195 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame.

To make his case for whipping America into shape, Thompson rattles off alarming statistics. Nearly 130 million Americans, or 64 percent of the population, are obese or overweight, costing the nation $117 billion in 2000, he says. Diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses are often linked to obesity.

"When you look at the high cost of health care in America and the cost of health care to taxpayers in America and you can see a way to reduce that, it only makes common sense to do that," he said.

With this epidemic, Thompson takes policymaking very personally. At every opportunity he cajoles -- some might say he badgers -- employees, reporters and corporate executives to get with the program.

"How many pounds have you lost?" he said, putting his spokesman Bill Pierce on the spot during a recent interview. Disappointed by Pierce's underwhelming response, Thompson quickly shifted to some of his star employees, sounding a bit like a late-night television commercial.

"Tony Jewell lost 15 pounds," he said. "Mary [Gerald] went down seven dress sizes. Susan Schamberg lost 100 pounds. "

He even has other Cabinet secretaries counting their steps with pedometers, courtesy of the Department of Health and Human Services. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says he has trouble attaining the 10,000 steps-a-day goal.

Today, Thompson plans to unveil a Food and Drug Administration anti-obesity strategy dubbed "Calories Count," designed to improve food labeling, educate consumers and encourage restaurants to provide calorie information.

Thompson never consulted a physician about his own weight-loss program, knows little of the menu offerings in the HHS cafeteria and seems to have little patience for those who advocate harsher measures such as taxes on unhealthful foods.

"It's difficult at the beginning," he acknowledged, "but every single one of us has got to take care of ourselves. We can't expect somebody else to do it for us, and there's not going to be a pill out there that we can take that's going to make us healthy and happy and beautiful. "

These days, Thompson's daily ritual is a model of good health. He starts each day with 50 pushups, 50 sit-ups, fruit and juice. Lunch, generally served in his private dining room, is salad, fruit and a protein such as beef or chicken. Dinner is fish and vegetables. Upon prodding, he confesses that he snacks on pretzels and that he did make a rare return to the Dubliner in December for a beer with Washington's Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.

Thompson's practice-what-you-preach philosophy is praiseworthy, note some anti-obesity activists, but is not a substitute for money and real policy change. They complain that the Bush administration has slashed funding for anti-obesity programs and refused to embrace limits on food advertising targeting children.
" It's a great thing that he is showing the way," said Neville Rigby, director of policy at the International Obesity Task Force. "But it's not simply a question of personal choice."

As governor of Wisconsin, Thompson knew he was "a bit chunky, but not overweight." Now Thompson considers himself still overweight, and his goal is to lose 10 more pounds in the next 60 days.

"I feel much more productive, and I feel much better," he said. "If you feel comfortable with yourself and you look better and feel better, you're happier. "

If only he could get Bush, who "really does exemplify what preventative health and good exercise is all about," to join his crusade. "I wish I could get him to really speak out more on it, because I think it would be helpful -- helpful for my cause and helpful for the country," Thompson said.