2008 Idaho Conference on Health Care
Ron Guymon, PhD
Dr. Ron Guymon holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology and a Bachelor of Sciences in Education. In the business sector he has served as Chief Operating Officer for a software testing and certification firm, and in senior leadership roles in marketing, communications and training for other firms, including the Standard Oil Company. In academia Ron has served on the graduate faculty of Brigham Young University and is currently Director for Corporate Engagements at Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab. He is literally traveling the globe helping organizations do the seemingly impossible – effectively establishing and sustaining cultures of change and accountability. Over the past 25 years representatives from the majority of the Fortune 500 companies have participated in his engaging workshops and consultation. He has authored a number of educational programs and products – ranging from healthcare to gardening and from global literacy to second language acquisition – some of which have been featured by the nation's largest retailers. Recently Ron teamed with Dr. Brian Wansink, author of the book Mindless Eating, who is interim Executive Director of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. They are now focusing on corporate solutions to counter the obesity pandemic and to mitigate skyrocketing health insurance premiums. By uniquely blending the psychologies of food and change, their goal is to help people mindlessly pay the price to healthy weight, and then to mindfully “keep the changeTM.” Ron lives with his family in Highland, Utah.
Every single one of us—whether we’re wellness experts or not—eats how much we eat largely because of what’s around us; and not because we’re hungry, or because of the mood we’re in, or even because of our discerning palates. We think we’re too smart to be tricked by external factors such as plates and packages, names and numbers, labels and light, but we’re tricked just the same – each and every day! By focusing on just a few of these factors, we can go a long way towards mindlessly losing weight, instead of mindlessly gaining it. And, by being mindful about how we as humans process change, the word “diet” doesn’t have to mean “die” with the letter “t” at the end.