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If Sitting is the New Smoking, Walking is a Powerful Antidote

Ever since I took up running in my early teens, I have always considered myself a runner. Never a particularly fast runner, mind you, but an every-other-day distance runner. I made a habit out of running all through high school and college, and even ran a marathon (my one and only) as I finished out my first year in medical school. And then life’s demands really set in. With the realities of a husband, three kids, and a demanding job, I found myself figuratively running all the time, but with so little to spare that even finding the time to finish watching a movie on a 5-day rental was a challenge, and my running went by the wayside altogether.

One of the disadvantages of having been a former distance runner is that it took me many years before I was able to convince myself that anything short of a five-mile run counted as real exercise. Concerningly, I’ve found that people contemplating exercise for the first time share this impression, making it a misperception that stands to seriously get in the way of getting up and getting active. And it’s clear that getting up and getting active is something we all could afford to do more of.

In fact, a 2012 Lancet article reported that “physical inactivity is a global pandemic, with far-reaching health, economic, environmental, and social consequences.” The New York Times recently reported that Americans are “thousands of steps behind” – walking barely half (5117) of the 10,000 steps per day typically recommended by the health community compared to countries like Japan (coming in at over 7000) and both Australia and Switzerland (both close to 10,000 per day). According to America’s health rankings, Nebraskans are not faring so well either, with nearly a quarter of us over eighteen reportedly doing no physical activity or exercise other than in the course of our regular job. With physical education time and funding being dropped from elementary, middle and high schools alike, we’re all but setting our children up to follow in our physical inactivity footsteps.

So what kind of far-reaching effects does all this physical inactivity have? According to epidemiologist Min Lee it “has an impact on health comparable that of smoking” – a troubling sentiment shared by a friend of mine, Nilofer Merchant, in her recent TED talk, in which she asserted that sitting has become the smoking of our generation.

If sitting and our tendency towards physical inactivity really is the new smoking, then the good news is that there is a powerful, easy to administer, and entirely free antidote. That antidote is walking. With the lowest dropout rate of just about any physical activity, it’s high time we all commit to doing more of it. To that end, I wanted to share some of the many convenient and motivating ways you can add more steps to your family’s day.

  • Walk and talk. Just like regular exercise, finding time to connect with friends is clearly an important aspect of well-being too. Instead of getting together for food and/or drinks, why not plan to take a walk and talk instead? If your days are filled with meetings, consider which might be just as fruitful if conducted while walking rather than sitting.
  • Make walking a club sport. Many area elementary schools have adopted walking clubs, in which children can come to school early and walk a mile or more with the peers, teachers, and/or parents. If your child’s elementary school doesn’t have one, consider volunteering to help get one off the ground!
  • Walk where you’re going. While October 9th has been officially recognized as International Walk to School Day, consider having your child walk to/from school every And while you’re at it, consider other daily activities where you might be able to walk rather than drive – the grocery store? The post office? Take a look around your neighborhood and you’re sure to find places within walking distance. Or simply add an evening walk around the block to your daily routine.
  • Measure your progress. Pedometers and other fitness tracking devices abound, and for good reason. For many of us, simply being able to see how many steps we have (or haven’t) taken in a day is enough to motivate us to get up and moving.
  • Watch while you’re walking. Can’t find time to walk? Consider taking a look at your TV viewing schedule and commit yourself to walking on a treadmill while you watch your favorite weekly show(s).
  • Walk the walk. Remember that as parents, we have a responsibility to set a good example for our children – which includes both talking the talk and walking the walk. After all, if we get it right, they are very likely to follow in our 10,000-plus steps-per-day footsteps!

Originally posted on Omaha World Herald’s Live Well Nebraska

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I admit it – I do well with resolutions. I truly believe that people tend to accomplish more when they have a set goal in mind. I personally love to rise to a challenge, and find that setting a formal (and preferably public) goal definitely has a way of bringing out one’s competitive nature.

So when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, I have to say I’m a believer. As someone dedicated to promoting health and safety year-round, I obviously think it’s important to set goals throughout the year. But if ushering in a new year happens to give you an increased sense of motivation, then by all means, run with it because now is the perfect time to shift gears from helping your children create holiday wishlists to helping them (and you) focus on setting some realistic family goals that are sure to deliver on the promise of an even happier, healthier 2012.

Okay, so what’s the best way to figure out what one’s family goals should be? While each of your family members’ individual resolutions can be customized according to age, ability, and circumstance, I figured it might be helpful to get you started by offering you some simple family-friendly resolutions – you know, those completely do-able resolutions that don’t seem nearly as challenging as, say, signing up for a gym membership in January only to lack the willpower come March to make use of it. Or running a marathon. While there’s nothing wrong with either of those resolutions (I’ve made them both myself in years past), there’s nothing wrong with first reaching for the “low-hanging fruit” resolutions that are sure to give your family both a sense of accomplishment and a big bang for your buck when it comes to improved healthy, safety and well-being.

–       Walk more. That’s right, walk more. Around the block, to the grocery store, with friends, on the treadmill – wherever and whenever you can. Running is fine, too. But if that seems a bit daunting or impractical, the important thing for kids and adults alike is to be more active in 2012. As someone who just placed my own order for a FitBit, let me add that if you and/or your children are more likely to put their best foot forward with a concrete goal (or a cool new gadget), then using a pedometer may prove to be just what it takes to get up and get going.

–       Sleep more. You see – I told you these resolutions would be attainable, if not downright desirable. I mean, who doesn’t want to sleep more? But as a pediatrician married to a surgeon and therefore accustomed to dealing with the demands of both professional schedules and with the many sleep-related challenges of parenthood, I fully understand why most of us simply don’t get enough sleep. I have also become increasingly impressed with how important sleep is to one’s overall health. So whether it’s an improved bedtime routine for babies or toddlers, taking/keeping the TV set out of your child’s bedroom, keeping tabs on your teenager’s sleep habits or simply placing more value on your own sleep needs – I strongly recommend it.

–       Read more. Daily, whenever possible. Not just for work, not just when your kids are required to, but for fun. Read aloud to your kids. Read quietly alongside them.  Make a point of reading the newspaper. Encourage your tweens or teens to start reading it too. Read on paper or in any electronic form you choose. Regardless of what angle you take, resolving to read more will enrich your family’s new year.

–       Drink more. Water, that is. Just back from a recent trip to NY where I discussed water as a key aspect of health, hydration, and tackling the obesity epidemic with a wide range of magazine editors, I decided to toss it in my resolution list. It’s not just because I think drinking more water is the one and only solution to better health, but because it strikes me as such an easy one once you and your family set your minds to it. The goal in encouraging more water consumption in large part actually relates to getting everyone (kids and parents alike) to drink less soda, less juice, and less sugary liquids in general. If your family is not in the water-drinking habit, consider committing to milk with meals and water with snacks, and making water more appealing by filtering it (typically tastes better), bottling it (re-usable water bottles are both convenient and better for the environment), or simply adding some natural flavor (a wedge of lemon/lime or even a slice of cucumber!).

–       Engage more. Social networking now seems to be the key to everything from successful weight loss to professional success. Yet one of the things we risk in what is sure to be an increasingly wired (or wireless) 2012 is the lack of meaningful, personal engagement with others in our community. That’s why I firmly believe that all families should set a goal of teaching their children to more actively engage and become contributing members of society. Taking some lessons from the Helping Hands curriculum at my child care center, this can be as simple yet meaningful as having even very young children visit the Humane Society or a local retirement home; send letters of thanks to those serving in the military; and/or collect mittens, books, pennies, diapers, coats or cans of food for those less fortunate. Whatever you choose, remember that one of the most powerful lessons we stand to teach our children (and live by ourselves) is that it is our meaningful connection with others that brings the most happiness.

–       Laugh more. At yourself, with your kids….the point is that while resolutions can be a good way to improve one’s health, it’s just as important to make sure that stress doesn’t get the best of you. I’ve found the best way to do this is to remember to laugh, and always remind yourself of how fortunate you are to have your family, your friends, your health, and the gift of another year.

On that note, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and accomplished new year. I’ll look forward to sharing 2012 with you and everyone in the Live Well Nebraska community.

Originally posted on Omaha World Herald’s Live Well Nebraska

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Raising Healthy Kids: Reaching for the Low-Hanging Fruit of Parenthood

For good or for bad, parents today are faced with the fast paced nature of both the real world and a virtual one. Much of the virtually continuous stream of information, videos, tweets and texts we receive on a 24/7 basis relate in one way or another to what we can, should, and/or are expected to do to be good parents. And let’s face it – keeping up with all of the modern-day parenting advice would be hard enough even if all of it was fact-checked for us. Unfortunately, this is not often the case, as much of what we hear, see and read is unfiltered, potentially unfounded, and confusingly contradictory.

Having spent much of my professional career as a pediatrician increasingly committed to making sense of pediatric and parenting advice in both of these worlds, I have found that what parents often want to know from me is simply how to filter the good from the bad and separate fact from fiction.

Knowing that you all are probably as busy as I am, I decided that this week I would distill down to as few words as possible the handful of things I consider to be some of the most well-founded, important things you can do as parents can do to make your kids smarter, safer and healthier. In other words, the following is my list of the “low-hanging fruit” of parenting.

Move more. I feel the need to say this because it’s painfully obvious that it has become incredibly easy for our children (and for us) to barely move in the course of any given day. Whether it’s walking instead of driving to school (or work) or taking an evening walk around the block, getting out of the car instead of rolling your way through drive-thrus, or signing up for organized sports, joining a gym, or participating in more vigorous daily exercise regimens – every step counts towards an healthier life style.

Use restraint. Literally speaking, I’m simply referring to the use of car seats and seat belts in motor vehicles. With motor vehicle crashes clearly identified as the number one cause of death in children, and the correct use of car seats and seatbelts clearly shown to have a huge impact on reducing motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths, taking the time to buckle up comes with a huge return on your parenting investment.

Read. For every parent who has ever asked my opinion on what they can do to help their children become smarter, excel in school, or head down a path of success, reading always factors in to my answer. Reading aloud to babies, toddlers, young children and teens alike not only fosters improved language skills, but also a love of reading that will serve children well for their lifetime. One of my favorite sayings to emphasize this point is that children spend the first few years of school learning to read, and the rest of their lives reading to learn.

Sleep. For parents of infants and young children, this conversation usually focuses on getting children to fall asleep, stay asleep, sleep in their own room, and do so without requiring repeated interventions. For parents of teens, the conversation often shifts to too little and too late. But regardless of your child’s age, it is becoming convincingly clear that instilling your child with good sleep habits is not only a good thing for your own chances of getting a good night’s sleep, but your child’s overall health and well-being.

Wash your hands…and while you’re at it, remember to cover your cough (preferably with your arm rather than your hand) and vaccinate. The fact of the matter is that while modern day science and research is continually coming up with new medicines, treatments and technologies to improve our families’ health and more effectively treat disease, the simple act of teaching our children to wash their hands (which includes committing to consistently doing so ourselves) remains one of the single most effective things we can do to limit the spread of disease. So is protecting against all of the vaccine preventable diseases.

Originally posted on Omaha World Herald’s Live Well Nebraska