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Dr. Ken Cooper’s Steps to Good Health Gets a Much-Needed Update

Introduction

Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, now in his 86th year, is the most famous fitness guru alive. He is the father of the aerobic movement whose books, medical clinic, research, and lectures have probably turned a million or more couch potatoes into regular exercisers. Cooper’s first book, Aerobics, recalls something of the wisdom of Schopenhauer, who noted that all reforms have three stages: first they are ignored, then they are vigorously opposed, and finally they are accepted as self-evident.

I know Dr Cooper. He and his wife Millie are greatly admired. Only a wacko would complain, criticize, criticize or get angry at his work. Really, who would dare to submit a negative evaluation on the recommendations of this famous exercise guru? Well, he would.

I oppose Cooper’s much publicized Twelve Steps to Good Health. Cooper’s 12 Steps should not be confused with the more well-known 12 Steps of Alcohol Anonymous, Joshua Rosenthal’s 12 Steps to Improve Your Health for Life, or Gabriel MA Segal’s Twelve Steps to Mental Health and Serenity. I’m also not in love with these 12-step approaches, but this review is just about Dr. Cooper’s signature 12-step recommendations.

Before I describe my concerns, take a look at Cooper’s Twelve Steps to Good Health.

1. Stop using all tobacco and drugs.

2. Limit alcohol to no more than 10 drinks per week.

3. Start exercising.

4. Use less salt, eat less fat, especially animal fat.

5. Eat more fresh vegetables.

6. Avoid obesity.

7. Take proper dietary supplements, including calcium and antioxidant vitamins C, E, and A.

8. Fasten your seat belt.

9. Avoid sun exposure.

10. Get immunizations.

11. Get proper prenatal care.

12. Get regular medical exams.

The steps are repetitive and obvious (avoid smoking and obesity), too general (how much more of the good things, how much less of the bad?), debatable (take supplements), and, in one case, inapplicable to half the population. the population (prenatal care)

In short, they don’t add up to much. From such a highly praised fitness expert, I think we should expect 12 innovative, specific exercise tips we don’t know about yet, all reasonably specific.

Of course, 12 REAL wellness tips would be better.

Cooper’s steps reconsidered

Here is a critique of each step.

1. Stop using tobacco and drugs? Are you kidding? That is impossible for most people because they would not be caught dead or alive with tobacco products. (As for the drugs, well, that depends on the drugs.) Most people don’t smoke or abuse drugs anyway, although pain-relieving drugs (opioids) are a serious problem! A substitute step for those who don’t practice this heinous aspect of self-destruction: try to experience at least 23 good laughs a day, more if possible.

2. Ten alcoholic drinks a week? That’s a lot! Alcohol is fattening, expensive and often contains sugar. Drinking to excess often makes one look stupid. A substitute step: Drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

3. Start exercising? Where have you been? On the moon? No one can be well without regular exercise and premature illness and death without it is guaranteed, unless you die first from an accident or something. Don’t enter middle age without it! A substitute step: increase your exercise regimen! Do more than the minimum daily requirements to avoid illness. Follow the advice of the late Dr. George Sheehan: be a good animal and move often, with grace and power.

4. Less salt, less fat? You can do much better. Consider becoming vegan. Even a half-vegan, or part-time vegan, also known as a vegetarian. Doing so will contribute to less animal cruelty and probably weight loss, should you need to lose weight.

5. More fresh vegetables? Depends Depends on how much you’re eating right now. A substitute step: put less emphasis on food and more on adding meaning and excitement to life. Feed your passions.

6. Avoid obesity? Of course. Good idea. Be sure to also avoid radiation exposure, hungry reptiles, the Republican Party, and bubonic plague, while you’re at it. A Substitute Step: Commit to achieving and maintaining a fit body through lifelong exercise and good eating habits.

7. Food supplements? Few need them. The Harvard Health Letter points out that if supplements really worked (something doubtful for most), they would have risks of side effects as well as benefits. No drug is completely safe, even if taken as directed.

8. Fasten your seat belt? Do you need Dr. Cooper to tell you that? Go much further: make sure your car’s airbags aren’t in retreat, drive less, and when driving, never, under any circumstances, text or talk into a phone you’re holding. And drive defensively, assuming other drivers in and around you are mentally challenged and unlikely to drive sensibly.

9. Avoid sun exposure? What planet are you currently inhabiting? If Earth, this step will be challenging, to say the least. We all need a little starlight, but get yours earlier or later in the day whenever possible. Never sunbathe or use a tanning booth and cover up as much as practical.

10. Vaccinations? Sure: annual flu shots, children’s shots, and as needed for travel to dangerous environments. But put a REAL feel-good twist on this: immunize yourself against getting worse. That is, make efforts to avoid associating with negative people, design your environment to support growth and development, and do things that naturally make you feel positive and joyful.

11. Antenatal care? Good idea if you are pregnant. A more widely applicable step might have occurred to Dr. Cooper. What if he looks for a job that is challenging and meaningful, in an environment where he associates with positive co-workers? Also, make an effort to become very, very good at what you like to do with the idea that eventually someone or many people will want to compensate you for it. Example: writing a regular blog for SeekWellness! (I’m still waiting, you have to be patient).

12. Periodic medical exams? Oh the humanity, the horror. There are too many medical tests in America. A substitute step: Be more self-reliant. Become familiar with medical self-care: Recognize when you need to see a medical professional.

Summary

Dr. Cooper’s steps seem to assume that most Americans and others have terrible, self-destructive lifestyles and are unable or unwilling to think and act in ways that improve their chances of a good life. Hmmm.

Come to think of it, Dr. Cooper might be onto something. Most people could benefit from some of his recommended 12 steps to minimize ill health. However, to go beyond prevention and function exuberantly requires a different set of steps or recommendations.

The reformed steps provided above emphasize the positive: the use of reason and the enjoyment of personal freedoms for an exuberant approach to life. Warning signs, such as those outlined in the latest AWR on Disease and Organ Interest Groups (DOIG), never provide the higher states of genuine vitality associated with optimal physical and mental well-being.

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