“The Surgeon General notes that social connection is as fundamental a human need and as essential to survival as food, water, and shelter,” says Dr. Tom McCoy, dual board-certified physician in family and obesity medicine.

The note McCoy references is from a 2023 advisory in which the U.S. Surgeon General declares the current state of affairs an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation.”

And it’s not just a social problem; it’s a health problem, too.

“When we look at social isolation and loneliness, it is consistently correlated with higher rates of insulin resistance, poor body composition, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperlipidemia, and poor muscle tone,” McCoy says in a talk given at the CrossFit for Health Summit on Feb. 3, 2024, in Austin, Texas.

CrossFit, he says, can tackle both.

“It is a wonderful comprehensive strategy to address some of the biggest challenges that we face as a nation right now in regards to healthcare,” Dr. McCoy says. “Being there for each other, connecting on a human level, is something that we do that no other fitness modality does. And this differentiates us and it gives us a power to impact brain physiology in a way that no other fitness modality can.”

CHAPTERS
0:00-2:14 - The most impactful component of CrossFit.
2:19-5:21 - Dylan’s story.
5:55-7:11 - Loneliness as an immuno-metabolic syndrome.
8:26-10:46 - Sarah’s story.
10:54-13:57 - Fitness as a component of substance-use disorder recovery.
14:22-17:35 - Fitness, community, and brain physiology.
17:38-21:09 - Troy’s story.
21:14-22:13 - The impact of community on mental health.
22:17-24:51 - Troy’s impact on other veterans with CrossFit and ValorFit.
24:56-25:54 - The system is not designed to progress based on health outcomes.
25:59-27:50 - Changing the tide against insurmountable odds.
27:57-29:00 - Social connection is as fundamental a human need as food, water, and shelter.
29:21-35:01 - Integrating healthcare, community, and CrossFit.
35:12-39:40 - Alan’s story.
39:41-40:40 - Expanding upon the definition of CrossFit: “Doing fitness with friends.”

—
CrossFit, LLC is the owner of the world-famous CrossFit® fitness brand. In the 20 years since its founding, CrossFit has grown from a garage gym in Santa Cruz, California, into the world's most popular and effective training program for improving health and performance. CrossFit, LLC is the leading provider of accredited, performance-based training courses and certifications and has more than 125,000 credentialed coaches worldwide. The CrossFit program can be scaled to welcome people of all ages and abilities, and millions of people have already experienced CrossFit's transformational benefits in more than 13,000 affiliated gyms across 155 countries. CrossFit, LLC also directs the CrossFit Games season, the world’s largest participatory sporting event, which, in 2023, had over 320,000 participants from over 180 countries who all competed for the title of Fittest on Earth®.

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