On April 27th, 9th graders of New Hope-Solebury High School heard an important message about obesity and the importance of maintaining a healthy heart. Coordinated through the high school’s health department, cardiologist Dr. David Smith from Doylestown Hospital talked to the students about the unsettling trend of obesity in America and the impact it is having on our overall health and life expectancy. Smith remarked that teenagers today may be the first generation which does not out-live the life span of their parents. He talked about the teenage trend of eating fast food and poor exercise habits due to increased computer and video game use.
“The best news for me as a cardiologist is that today we’ve never had better options and equipment available to take care of people’s hearts and their overall health. The worst news is that the lifestyle of Americans has never been worse in respect to their health,” said Smith.
Also on hand, was ultrasound technician, Patrice Blanchard, of Doylestown Hospital. After Smith showed the students images of ultrasounds of some unhealthy hearts, Blanchard took student volunteers and projected images of their hearts for the group to see. Thankfully, the volunteers’ hearts appeared to be healthy and normal! Students also had an opportunity to closely examine the hearts of a pig and cow so that they could get a real-life perspective of this organ which they have been learning about in health classes.
Smith and Blancard have been giving these presentations to school students for years in hopes that teenagers make positive changes in their lifestyles. “If I’ve made just one student make a positive change today, then this presentation is well worth my time,” said Smith.
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