Clearwater Bears president Chaz Merkel has a message to share, and he had the ultimate captive audience when he traveled to Washington to speak with the Department of Health about the country’s obesity epidemic.
It would be hard to imagine now, but the 225-pound Merkel at one time weighed 435 pounds. He was motivated to lose the weight when he moved to Florida to care for his mother, who had suffered several massive strokes.
“I found out in short order that at 435 pounds and with the kinds of co-morbidities that I was experiencing—angina, back pain, knee pain and everything else—that I was not going to be able to fulfill my promise to her if I didn’t do something,” he told a panel of health experts on Sept. 21. The hearing was timed to coincide with the release of a Department of Health Policy Statement that calculates the individual costs of obesity for Americans.
“A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States,” is the first study to quantify those costs through academic research.
Merkel eventually underwent bariatric surgery and has since shed 215 pounds. He said his story is like that of many others who experience the emotional, financial and physical toll of obesity.
The chance to help others was an honor for Merkel.
“It was fast-paced and exciting,” he said. “I was singled out to participate, and to participate in the panel discussion including former Surgeon General David Satcher and a prestigious group of authorities.”
Merkle said that he hopes to share the video of the conference with friends and others who face an obesity battle when it becomes available.
“I was quite honored,” he said of the experience.
