Canada Is Only As Strong As Our People

And Canadians are increasingly unhealthy, both physically and mentally.

Before the Wuhan Virus crisis, Canada was an increasingly unhealthy nation.

Physically, rates of obesity have been rising, with more and more people weighing an unhealthy amount.

Mentally, suicides are rising, and ‘deaths of despair’ such as drug overdoses (which often represent suicide in slow motion), have been increasing as well.

So, when the virus hit, it reached a population that was already vulnerable.

And yet, our ‘leaders’ responded in such a way as to make those vulnerabilities worse.

Despite many people noting how important physical fitness is to being more resilient to illnesses including COVID-19, one of the first things those in power did was to shut down gyms, and shut down sports – including sports programs for young people.

Meanwhile, with restaurants shuttered and gathering restricted, many people started ordering out even more as they stayed at home, mixing an increasingly sedentary lifestyle with more unhealthy food.

The undeniable connection between Covid outcomes and obesity was almost completely ignored by politicians and public health officials, and efforts to discourage exercise have predictably made things far worse.

If you read my site regularly, there’s a good chance you are already someone who can see past the false narratives pushed by the government and establishment media, and you’ve seen how ‘gym bros’ and ‘alternative health’ advocates have been far more correct than public health officials and politicians.

We’ve been warning for some time about the vulnerability created by obesity, and the importance of physical fitness, something that was denounced by those who instead promoted endless lockdowns and restrictions rather than seeking to improve health.

And, like everything else during this crisis, the establishment authorities only arrive at the truth after months of denouncing truth-tellers as ‘conspiracy theorists.’

For example, the New York Times has apparently figured out that fitness is important:

“How nice of the establishment media to finally get on board with the reality that being physically fit is important. Too bad the politicians closed gyms and told everyone to stay home. Our society is sick, in more ways than one.”

https://twitter.com/SpencerFernando/status/1382420223253303297

Here are a few excerpts from the New York Times article:

“More exercise means less risk of developing severe Covid, according to a compelling new study of physical activity and coronavirus hospitalizations. The study, which involved almost 50,000 Californians who developed Covid, found that those who had been the most active before falling ill were the least likely to be hospitalized or die as a result of their illness.”

“The data were gathered before Covid vaccines became available and do not suggest that exercise can substitute in any way for immunization. But they do intimate that regular exercise — whether it’s going for a swim, walk, run or bike ride — can substantially lower our chances of becoming seriously ill if we do become infected.”

“The researchers gathered data, too, about each person’s known risk factors for severe Covid, including their age, smoking habits, weight, and any history of cancer, diabetes, organ transplants, kidney problems and other serious, underlying conditions.”

“Then the researchers crosschecked numbers, with arresting results. People in the least-active group, who almost never exercised, wound up hospitalized because of Covid at twice the rate of people in the most-active group, and were subsequently about two-and-a-half times more likely to die. Even compared to people in the somewhat-active group, they were hospitalized about 20 percent more often and were about 30 percent more likely to die.”

“Of the other common risk factors for severe disease, only advanced age and organ transplants increased the likelihood of hospitalization and mortality from Covid more than being inactive, the scientists found.”

“Being sedentary was the greatest risk factor” for severe illness, “unless someone was elderly or an organ recipient,” says Dr. Robert Sallis, a family and sports medicine doctor at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center, who led the new study. And while “you can’t do anything about those other risks,” he says, “you can exercise.””

Welcome to the world of common-sense New York Times.

Just imagine how many people could have been helped if governments were honest about this upfront, and promoted individual health, losing weight, and increased fitness among the population.

Instead, they just pushed lockdowns over and over again.

Mental health crisis

Further, the isolation imposed by government policy has deepened Canada’s mental health crisis. Overdose deaths in particular have surged, with the increase outpacing Covid deaths in some instances.

As we know, physical and mental health are closely linked, as many people see a substantial improvement in their mental health when they begin exercising more.

The human body was meant to move and be active, and what helps the body helps the mind.

Unfortunately, those in charge repeatedly rejected that truth over the past year.

The fact is, Canada is now even less healthy than we were a year ago.

A sick country cannot be a strong country

As I seek to analyze and politics and provide effective insight, I’m starting to come to the conclusion that focusing merely on partisan battles is counterproductive, and isn’t getting at the true depth of the problems Canada faces.

If Canada is both physically and mentally weakening, any party that doesn’t address those root causes will simply be taking over a sick system, and will have to pander to that system in order to stay in power.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Canada is becoming more physically, mentally, and financially vulnerable at the same time.

Fiscal restraint, a commitment to exercise, and strong mental health often go together, and a nation that is unwilling or unable to tighten our physical belts will be unlikely to tighten our financial belts either.

For example, we’ve seen many people who feel that their own sense of fear and vulnerability entitles them to restrict the rights and freedoms of others, rather than take responsibility for their own health and actions.

It’s no wonder then that few are willing to accept any reduction in government spending, and are unwilling to acknowledge economic reality, because people are increasingly conditioned to believe responsibility is always outside of themselves rather than located internally.

Intuitively, we can see a connection between a Bank of Canada that enables endless debt increases, and the ‘healthy-at-any size’ rhetoric that pretends there are no consequences from obesity.

‘Healthy at any size’ and ‘modern monetary theory’ are likely more similar concepts than we think.

Canada’s health crisis, our mental health crisis, our vulnerability to Covid-19, restrictions on freedom, and our rising debt – these things are all connected.

Canada cannot be a strong country if our people are aren’t strong.

If more and more Canadians are – on the individual level – physically and mentally sick – our country will become sicker and sicker.

Addressing root causes

Consider that the government has de facto control over young people for roughly a decade in government run schools.

In that time, young people could be learning philosophy, mental resilience, and physical fitness habits that last a lifetime.

Instead, there is a mental health crisis among young people, who are increasingly taught to despise their own country, see racism and hate everywhere, all while suicide rates are rising and youth obesity surges.

We have socialized healthcare, demanding everyone be responsible for paying for the healthcare of others, but we don’t seek to hold people responsible for their physical fitness.

Consider how absurd it is that politicians and health officials felt comfortable telling people to give up many of our most cherished freedoms, but never had the guts to tell people to lose weight.

Politicians like Doug Ford – with an opportunity to go on his own weight loss journey and set a positive example – instead simply pushed lockdowns as the only solution.

Nothing about physical resilience.

Nothing about fitness.

Nothing about encouraging people to be stronger.

And if we’ve accepted that government has a role in healthcare, we may as well go all the way and say government has a role in fitness.

Why don’t we all get huge vouchers to pay for exercise equipment?

Why aren’t cities building open air gyms and fitness clubs?

Why aren’t young people emerging from school stronger and fitter than ever?

Think of the many lives we could improve, and the billions of dollars we would save if we set an ambitious goal of making Canada the fittest and healthiest country in the world.

Why don’t we set goals like that anymore?

Why do we accept such vulnerability?

Why do we refuse to be ambitious?

Until we answer those questions, and until we realize that a country is only as strong as our people, we will continue to run around in circles wondering why we can’t get anything done.

Spencer Fernando

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