Translator: Robert Tucker Reviewer: Cristina Bufi-Pöcksteiner
I do love my freedom more than anything in the world.
We all love our freedom.
This morning, you and I, we could choose
what to have for breakfast,
what to wear,
and, in general, most of us are free to choose
what to do for a living,
how to spend our free time,
where to travel,
whom to marry,
what to believe, what not to believe.
In general, we have unlimited freedom.
I'm a free woman in the Western world,
and I'm grateful for that.
I'm grateful to live my life in freedom.
I was free to study both medicine and music,
my two great passions.
I was free to choose
the best medical specialty in the world
and become a happy psychiatrist.
I'm still free to share my opinion,
and to write columns,
and no one is limiting me today from spreading my idea on this stage,
the freedom to party,
(Party music)
and to spend time with my loved ones,
(Laughter)
but ...
also the freedom to start smoking at the age of 15.
It was part of my lifestyle,
and, somehow, I thought it was cool and artistic,
and I got addicted,
and smoking appeared to be one of my risk factors
to develop cancer.
Luckily, I survived,
and I'm grateful to stand here in front of you today.
But how about the consequences of unlimited freedom for society?
Four out of ten cancers are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle,
by unlimited freedom.
The same applies to cardiovascular diseases
like heart attacks and strokes:
45% is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle,
unlimited freedom.
And worldwide, more than 600 million people suffer from obesity.
How about the risk for diabetes?
And depression,
another disease greatly influenced by your lifestyle?
The World Health Organization predicts
that depression will be the number one disease in 2020,
causing suffering and disability.
And that same organization concluded in 2012
that we had lost 38 million lives
due to diseases of affluence or Western diseases,
premature and avoidable death.
That same organization predicts a disaster for our future
if we don't change our lifestyle.
Yes, we do need freedom,
but perhaps unlimited freedom in all domains isn't that good for us.
Tobacco kills 6 million people every year.
Alcohol and physical inactivity,
both more than 3 million lives every year;
unhealthy food or fast food, 1.7 annual deaths.
And those risk factors
have become a natural part of our lifestyle, of our freedom.
So, I would like you to meet Margot.
Margot's 32 years old,
and I met her at the Department of Surgery in our hospital,
where she was admitted
because her toes had to be amputated due to diabetes.
She was extremely anxious.
She used to be a happy, healthy and beautiful woman,
and worked as a kindergarten teacher,
until five years ago
when her father passed away.
Then she became very passive
and she tried to find solace in eating.
She got obese.
She developed diabetes,
and now she faces serious health problems due to her unlimited freedom.
I also met Robin.
I met him at the emergency department of our hospital.
He tried to commit suicide with an overdose of his medication.
Also his story was full of sadness.
When Robin was young, he had big plans and dreams,
and he wanted to become an engineer
and to help people with clean water issues in third-world countries.
But, during his studies, he got addicted to gaming.
And now he spends most of his time alone at home, gaming, smoking pot.
As he has no job, he has financial debts.
And Robin became depressed,
and, that day, he wanted to end his life
as it seemed meaningless and empty to him.
"My life is a failure," he told me.
Also Robin became a victim of unlimited freedom.
Yes, our freedom is very precious,
but, without boundaries, freedom becomes a risk factor.
Unfulfilled lives, wasted talents,
avoidable suffering and death,
we are not all born to be free,
and some of us are more vulnerable than others:
low IQ, low education,
difficulty to control your impulses,
or susceptibility to addiction,
being born in poor circumstances.
My vulnerability was getting addicted to smoking.
So, if I were to be the Minister of Health,
I would give you two options.
Option 1:
You have all the freedom of the world to live your own lifestyle,
but your chances to suffer from premature and avoidable diseases are substantial.
Or option 2:
You live your life according to a set of lifestyle rules
rooted in scientific research and, of course, common sense,
and I can prove to you
that you have a significant better chance
to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
So, tell me, what would you choose?
Who would choose option one?
Raise your hand.
And who would choose option two?
Raise your hand, please.
Thank you.
Good parents, they care about their children.
And they do so by setting boundaries.
We even expect that from a good parent.
And, as a medical doctor, I also care about my patients.
And, as a psychiatrist,
I sometimes even literally have to limit the freedom of my patients
in order to protect them from danger.
And you, as you have just shown me,
you also seem to prefer some boundaries
in order to become the best version of yourself.
So, for the sake of mankind,
let's take care of each other
by formulating new boundaries,
instead of looking away under that deceptive slogan of freedom.
Because, as humans, we are responsible for each other.
Thank you.
(Applause)