Steve Jobs-Disclosing Need To Know Health Info

      For many people…the culture of our times demands that we saturate ourselves with massive amounts of information.  However, even computers have limits on how much data they can store; come on!  But, this culture of “need to know” is getting to the point of being ridiculous when it comes to celebrities or public figures.

      Steve Jobs is the founder of Apple, Inc and is the Chief Executive there.  There has been alot of concern about his health over the last few years when it was disclosed that he had surgery for pancreatic cancer.  His form of pancreatic cancer was treatable through the surgery…it was not the most severe form of pancreatic cancer, which is often fatal.   Still there have been many who have speculated on his health.

       Steve appeared to have lost considerable weight over time recently.  Rumors abounded about his ability to run the company.  People were getting nervous; after all, business is business…right?  Let’s get our priororities straight, lest some investors or some such get too nervous and pull out their financing…making things too unstable.  The board at Apple has released it’s own statement pledging it’s own support of Steve Jobs, as it’s CEO.  What more does anyone need to know?

         Steve Jobs released a public letter today addressing some of the concerns.  He evidently felt that he needed to quell some of those rumors; because in the letter, he says that he has been suffering from a hormonal imbalance that was robbing him of protein that his body needed to function healthily.  This was discovered through very sophisticated blood tests that his doctors performed.   This  imbalance appears to have been the cause of the lost weight and it will take some time to regain that healthy weight.   He says that he has already begun the relatively simple treatment to restore the balance in his body.  These things take time.

          Steve also says, that is all he is going to say about the issue; except, that he will be the one to decide when and if he can no longer fulfill his duties.  That is as it should be. 

           I feel that he disclosed what he felt was necessary to satisfy those who would alledge that he wasn’t up to doing the job anymore, without disclosing more information than the public needed to know.   After all doesn’t Steve Jobs, as well as John Q. Public, have a right to privacy of their health issues?

update:  Today, January 14, 2009, it was announced that Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence as his medical situation is more complex than was understood last week.  He will be on leave until June of 2009.  Apple’s chief operating officer Tim Cook will fill in for Steve Jobs until then.

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When Oprah Talks…People Listen & Comment

       Oprah has been discussing her frustration with her recent weight gain over the last two years.  This has been an ongoing problem for Oprah (and many others as well) year after year.  Weight gain/weight loss cycles are hard on the body and even harder on the psyche.  No one needs to pile on the negative comments…because the person going through it beats up on themselves enough!  That is part of the struggle.

        The thing is…the up and down roller coaster ride is not one that most people willingly “decide” to get  on.  One day they have struggled to gain control and lose the weight.  They have focussed on the issues at hand and have overcome the struggle. 

          Then, before they know it…they go on about their daily lives and boom…they find themselves back in a position of being overweight and out of shape.  Because in the course of living…they have gone back to old patterns of lifestyle; because, it is easy to slip back into the comfortable way of doing things, without even realizing that you are doing it.

         The thing is…being overweight is a bit of an addictive problem.  Whether it be smoking, drugs, alcohol or sexual addiction; eating too much is a food addiction…food is tied into holidays and traditions, lifestyle, emotional rewards and punishments; as well as, behavioral patterns. 

            Eating sensibly has to be combined with a proper amount of physical exercise to balance the nurtritional needs equal to the calorie burn to achieve a maintained weight.   If you eat more calories than you burn…the weight accumulates.  Health issues start to arise and you feel less like exercising.  It becomes a vicious cycle…one that must be stopped before serious health issues affect the person in  the quality of their life.

            In reading comments that some posters have left on the news websites that ran with the story about Oprah’s weight issues…there were those who were supportive and those who were not. 

          Those who were not…tended to be supremely over-critical about her weight, her money, her media savy as well as her political alliances.  Those who were supportive expressed compassion for her and her battle.  Many had been through it themselves in the past or were also in an ongoing situation with their weight.  It makes her real and approachable because often times, the public views celebrities as people who have it all at their fingertips…someone people often put on a pedastal.

           It is a bit frustrating when you think about all of the shows that Oprah has done about weight loss, healthy dieting, lifestyle changes, cooking healthy meals and snacks only to still be in the same position years later.  She is not the only person to do so though.   

            It is a bit discouraging to think that someone who has “all the money in the world” to hire chefs, personal assistants, personal shoppers, and dieticians is still unable to keep it all together in the weight loss department.  That makes those viewers who have less money and resources, who struggle with weight management,  feel less able to be in control.  In reality, a person who struggles with weight issues is in the same predictament no matter how much money they have.  Their self confidence and body image play a big part in their ability to control their weight. 

            Like it or not, Oprah has built a following through years of hard work on her television show as well as her movies and publishing ventures.  Oprah has developed what most business people and marketers are dying to figure out how to procure…it is called customer or viewer loyalty.  This is a great tool to help both Oprah and her viewers to encourage one another and motivate one another in reaching their goals and maintaining them.

            There are those critics who say that Oprah overshares information about her life…and maybe that is true and maybe it isn’t…but, when you stop and think about it…Oprah knows herself well.  Maybe by speaking her version of personal truth and honesty about her weight…it is her way of holding herself accountable once again.  I for one, wish her luck and good health!

           

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