‘Walking Man’s’ weight gain offers new chapter in cautionary tale

By Dennis Archambault

Last winter, James Robertson personified the transportation problem in Southeast Michigan through a series of articles in the Detroit Free Press, which dubbed him “Walking Man” and documented his plight walking 21 miles each day to and from work because public transportation couldn’t get him from Detroit to his suburban employment site. Thousands of workers face the same challenge.

For us, Robertson also exemplified the mobility challenges that prevent vulnerable populations from getting to health care services, particularly diagnostic and educational programs. It’s a challenge we hope will be remedied through the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan http://www.rtamichigan.org/. In the meantime, access to health care continues to be a problem, despite the implementation of Healthy Michigan and affordable health care insurance.

The Free Press recently noted a new stage in the evolution of the Walking Man saga http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2016/02/06/walking-man-james-robertson–detroit-troy-buses-oakland-county-smart-ddot-ford-taurus/79505152/, one which personifies the plague of the modern, affluent society: obesity. Robertson told the Free Press that he has gained considerable weight, now that he drives to and from work in the comfort of a new car donated to him through a community fundraising drive. Robertson continues to work; in fact, he’s now working on Saturday’s and has been given a raise. The bad news is that his diet hasn’t changed and his lack of activity has taken him “from slightly pudgy to overweight.” The Free Press coverage simply articulates our sedentary lifestyle. “That had to happen, after his sweeping change in lifestyle, trading hours of daily walking in all kinds of weather for the leisure and cable-TV time that most Americans take for granted. Robertson doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol, but he still eats the heavy meals he did before, still gulps Cokes and Mountain Dew, still digs into country dinners his boss’ wife cooks for him. And it shows.”

Those of us who sit a lot as we work understand this dilemma. Robertson, it appears, has as well. He has resolved to lose weight, joined a health club, and has made an appointment to see a doctor for the first time in memory.

Robertson plays, for us, the classic role of “everyman.” As his plight served to generate critical discussion on the real inequity of the region’s mobility problems, his struggle to adapt to his new living conditions and maintain his health is something practically everyone can understand. How he deals with it may be come with the next chapter in his saga.

Dennis Archambault is director of Public Affairs for Authority Health.