Do As You Say

Would you go to an obesity doctor if they were obese? Would you go to a cosmetic dentist if their teeth looked horrible? I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t go to a smoke cessation clinic if the doctor and staff reeked of cigarettes. I wouldn’t go to a lawyer who’s been in jail three times for fraud. Then why should your kids listen to you about smoking if you smoke yourself? Why should my son wear a seatbelt or a bicycle helmet if I don’t? Why should my kid listen to me about their weight if I regularly eat unhealthy foods?

People aren’t stupid. We recognize the hypocrisy of people who say we should do something but don’t do it themselves. Celebrities are the most obvious culprits. Steven Spielberg lectures us on global warming and then flies on a private jet. Oprah Winfrey does the same.

My wife and I are in Las Vegas right now with our son and his girlfriend. We went to a movie at Sphere. Darren Aronofsky created it. Sphere is a strikingly beautiful venue with technology and video that were beyond anything I have seen. The movie, called Postcard from Earth, talked about how humans are destroying the world with our growth and industry. Yes, another lecture about environmental change. But think about it. The movie was played in a two-billion-dollar theater, disrupting the environment more than anything I can think of. U2, with Bono as the lead singer, is headlining Sphere, making millions with his shows. Yet, Bono lectures us on climate change. What is the climate impact of all the energy expended to build Sphere? If he hadn’t committed to headlining the theater, would it even have been built?

Don’t tell me to avoid carbon emissions when you play at Sphere. Really, you shouldn’t tell me to avoid carbon emissions if you play a concert anywhere in Las Vegas. I enjoy going to Las Vegas once in a while for a few days. But there is no question that it is wasteful and damaging to the environment. Either Bono doesn’t really believe that climate change is a crisis, or he thinks he is better than us and doesn’t have to follow the same rules. Darren Aronofsky shouldn’t tell me what to do and then do the opposite. 

I have been hypocritical in many things during my career. I have talked about healthy eating and have eaten unhealthy food. I occasionally smoke a cigar after telling people about the harms of tobacco. I try to live the best life I can and present the evidence to my adult son and my patients. If he wants to gamble, I tell him that it is up to him, but most gamblers lose. I tell my patients that drinking alcohol daily has significant health risks, but it is up to them. The same goes for smoking and eating foods that can lead to obesity. 

I know that I have helped some people eat better and lose weight, some with my book, and some in the office. I doubt I would have been as persuasive if I were a hundred pounds overweight with a donut in my hand when I greet my patients. Darren Aronofsky would be more convincing if he refused to work on the Sphere project, and Steven Spielberg would be more convincing if he didn’t fly on a private jet, burning five thousand gallons of fuel per hour. That’s 125,000 miles in my Honda Pilot.