Acting U.S. surgeon general: Physical inactivity is major public health issue

Acting U.S. Surgeon General Boris Lushniak said in Indianapolis on Tuesday that America's major public health issue is physical inactivity and the nation has to change how it thinks about and prioritizes health.

"If we're going to survive as a nation, if we're going to thrive as a nation, we really have to change that focus on sickness and illness to one of health, prevention and wellness," he told a group of 60 local health officials and advocates at the American College of Sports Medicine.

The country needs to raise the priority of health and treat it as seriously as other major national issues, such as the economy, Lushniak said.

Lushniak, who led the group on a 15-minute walk in the noontime heat on the Downtown Canal, said his office is on the verge of releasing a major initiative to create walkable communities.

His message hit home for Eskenazi Health CEO Lisa Harris, who has been focused on preventative health in Marion County.

"For a person with the highest level of responsibility for health in the country saying the most important thing we can do is get moving is very powerful," she said. "It's great to see the emphasis on health, as opposed to disease."

Earlier in the day, Lushniak, a physician, met with state and local leaders to discuss tobacco control and cessation efforts in Indiana and in the U.S.

Cigarette smoking rates, which he pointed out are higher in Indiana — 22 percent — than nationally, contribute to the nation's health problems, Lushniak told the group. He added that smoking inhibits people's ability to walk, run and be active.

So many of the nation's health problems are preventable with interventions, he says, and it's his responsibility to get the word out that health and fitness need to be a major priority.

"But it begins and ends at the individual level," he said. "Are we the example we need to be when it comes to health and fitness?"

Eskenazi Health's Harris likes what she sees with changes, such as the city's bike-sharing program and more farmers markets, and more people focused on preventive health.

"We are starting to achieve the critical mass," she said. "We're starting to see that a lot of individual efforts are pointing in the same direction."

Call Star reporter Barb Berggoetz at (317) 444-6294. Follow her on Twitter: @barbberg.