MEDIA RESOURCES

 

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

Executives are neglecting their health to an alarming degree. "They're not getting any exercise, and there's not a pill they can take, or a food they can eat, for what ails them," according to a wellness expert, who counsels corporate bigwigs through one of the nation's leading business schools.

Marilynn "Birdie" Barr, provides a week of health screenings and workshops as part of "The Management of Managers" (MOM), a residential executive education program taught twice a year by SMU's Cox School of Business in Dallas. "These are the two most stressful weeks of my year," admits Barr, who has a Ph.D. in health education, "Because the execs get bogged down in the numbers of their blood tests. I try to get them to let the numbers go, and look at the big picture. You're in lousy shape. Do you want to stay like this, or do you want to change?"

Which isn't to say the numbers aren't important, or troublesome. Barr's program does a soup-to-nuts screening, from heart, liver, and kidney enzymes, to sodium, potassium, and fatty acids. "Year in and year out ," she explains, "Ninety percent of the 'MOM' execs have very low HDL -- that's the good cholesterol -- and very high LDL, the bad kind, which means they're not getting any exercise. I also see lots of blood sugar problems. When more extreme test results turn up, I have them take another one, to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Sure enough, when we get the same numbers they start to think about it, and realize there's a family history."

Despite the discouraging trend she's witnessed since beginning the MOM health segment in 1985, Barr takes a very upbeat and practical approach to changing executive lifestyles. "I'm not preachy, and there's no guilt. Wellness should not be lived or taught grimly."

Her Cox School clients seem to agree. "Great enthusiasm. Provides information on ways to improve total life - not just business life," said one. "Very knowledgeable in this area. Very good teaching style," commented another. A third remarked, "I just had a complete physical, so chose not to participate. But I did listen to all her presentations and then wished I had completely participated." One participant went as far as saying, "This part of the [MOM] program was a huge bonus, and, perhaps more than the other sessions, forced me to confront issues for real change."

For a time in the 80's, the entire MOM program would start with a week at the Cox School, followed by a six-week hiatus, before a concluding week on campus. According to Barr, "Several of the execs made tremendous changes in that brief time. They lowered their LDL, their blood pressure, their weight. One guy even got off coffee, and said he never felt better. It had changed his entire attitude and energy level."

Unlike the vast majority of the men attending the MOM program, "Most of the women are pretty fit," finds Barr. "They have far less change to make in their eating and exercise habits."

Barr does discover problems that exceed basic lifestyle changes. She sees plenty of glucose problems that indicate diabetes, and liver damage that could be hepatitis or alcohol problems. Roughly every other year she also encounters a "walking time bomb," a person at extreme coronary risk. In all of these cases, "I have them go over to the SMU Health Center and discuss my findings further with a physician," Barr explains.

Executives have written Barr to say they made it a priority to start a similar wellness program at their company, soon after completing her MOM program. Barr also recalls one Cox professor offering prize money to the exec who made the most life changes. "They really went after that," she laughs.