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Title: (Congressional) Members battle the bulge - It's not their fault
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URL Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21467.html
Published: Apr 21, 2009
Author: ERIKA LOVLEY
Post Date: 2009-04-21 10:07:23 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 16
The federal deficit isn’t the only bulge members of Congress are battling this year. Health experts say the economic downturn has wreaked havoc on Americans’ diets, as people cancel gym memberships, dine at fast-food restaurants and, in some cases, take on additional work hours as companies shrink their work forces. Members of Congress haven’t been immune. Inundated by Wall Street woes, a recession and looming legislative fights over health care and global warming, members say they’re facing one of the most intense legislative sessions in recent memory — and many are also trying to stave off the weight gain that can come with the pressure. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) recently lamented his own weight during a painfully slow bailout hearing on Capitol Hill last month. “I wish I didn’t have the five-minute rule. And I wish we didn’t have so many members. And I wish I could lose weight without dieting,” Frank said. Members say endless lunchtime meetings, heavy travel schedules and late-night hours have caused traffic to pick up both in the Senate gym and at the cafeteria salad bar. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) hops on the treadmill for 30 minutes every night in the Senate gym, takes a brief bike ride and is adding some upper-body weights when he can squeeze them in. His busy days rarely leave him an opening before 8 p.m. “A good diet is tough because with all the stress and long hours and the travel, you need all the energy you can get,” he said. Sen. Mike Crapo’s wife gave him a red pedometer that the Idaho Republican keeps in his suit jacket to count his steps around the Capitol. “When I’m home on the ranch, I walk a lot, and luckily, on Capitol Hill, everything is also very spread out,” Crapo said. “I wind up in meetings in every building between here and Hart during the day, which has kept me moving.” He’s also being pickier about his choices in the Senate cafeteria, avoiding two of his favorites: steak and apple pie. Almost all of the lawmakers POLITICO interviewed said their biggest temptation is the cafeteria pie. Apple is the problem for DeMint and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). Blueberry is the temptation for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who often hits the gym at 7 a.m. Even oilman T. Boone Pickens, a fixture in the Capitol, says he’s trying to lose 10 Hill-induced pounds. After nearly a year of traveling between Washington and Texas to lobby his renewable energy plan to policymakers, Pickens said he’s had to lay off the sweets and pump up the cardio. His routine: At 6:30 in the morning, the 80-year-old is on the treadmill at an 8-degree incline, walking at an impressive 15-minute mile pace. “The problem is when you’re up here, you’re eating everything,” he said. “I’ve had to give up my cookies. I’m bad on sweets.” After being sidelined with a torn ACL from a skiing accident, Sen. LisaMurkowski (R-Alaska) says she’s getting an entirely new kind of workout by hobbling down the long hallways of Congress on crutches. “I am building arm muscles,” she said. “But I’ll be glad when this workout is done.” Stress-related weight issues have gotten so bad for some members that they’re coming to Washington dietitian Katherine Tallmadge, who treats a number of lawmakers, White House staffers and top K Street honchos. Tallmadge says the politicians she’s treating are battling unpredictable congressional schedules, long hours and stress eating, putting them at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and poor work performance.
Poster Comment: Cute human interest story about a herd of pigs (are many pigs a herd?)
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