Community Focus
DRMC Governor’s Addresses Obesity
Known throughout the world as the “Father of Aerobics,” Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., presided as the keynote speaker at The Governor’s Conference on a Healthy Mississippi Delta held Friday, September 28, 2007, in Delta Regional Medical Center’s Pavilion Learning Center. Addressing a crowd of nearly 300 dignitaries and guests, Dr. Cooper presented “Obesity: a National Epidemic and Our Number One Health Problem.”
In attendance were Governor Haley Barbour, Dr. John Hilpert, President, Delta State University, Clarke Reed, Reed and Joseph International, long time patient and friend of Dr. Cooper, as well as Reverend Stephen Cook, Pastor of Revels United Methodist Church. Also in the crowd were Michael Retzer, US Ambassador to Tanzania, Dr. Ed Hill, former president of the American Medical Association, Greenville Mayor Heather Hudson, Leland Mayor Barbara Brooks, Washington County Board of Supervisors president Al Rankins, and a number of city and county elected officials.
From the time of his first book, AEROBICS, published in 1968, Dr. Cooper has advocated revolutionizing the field of medicine away from disease treatment to disease prevention. Dr. Cooper is known as the “Father of Aerobics.” Today Dr. Cooper is recognized as the leader of the international physical fitness movement, and he is credited with motivating more people to exercise in pursuit of good health than any other person. He leads the multi-division Cooper Aerobics Center, Cooper Craig Research Center, and Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. He holds a B.S. degree and an M.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma as well as an Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard University School of Public Health, and he is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Cooper has played a key role in Texas government affairs to address the issue of obesity. “Obesity is a leading cause of preventable heart disease,” stated Florence Jones, Chief Nursing Officer of Delta Regional Medical Center, “Dr. Cooper’s message on the effects of obesity, on children and adults, and how to treat and prevent it, offered solutions to the Delta’s high incidence of heart disease.” Those in attendance were also able to hear remarks from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. Governor Barbour reviewed steps that had already been taken to assist with the growing health issues in our state and laid out proposed plans for the future.
“In our on-going effort to fulfill our mission of improving the health of the citizens and communities we serve, we are very pleased to have had Dr. Cooper and Governor Barbour address this issue of growing concern in our state,” said Ray Humphreys, CEO, Delta Regional Medical Center. Co-sponsors for this event were Delta State University and Northwest Airlines.
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